untitled
by Samlie
Summary: [HIATUS] She was a broken girl, trying to piece her life back together. He was a bad boy, or so she's told. She wants nothing to do with him. All he wanted to do was tango with her demons. When they collide, the result may be untitled. What happens when the broken girl meets the bad boy... or is it the bad girl meets the broken boy? —auslly. college au.
1. amsterdam

**Y'ALL**

 **Here is my new fanfic that I've legit been working on for forever. This story is a little different from anything else I've written because... well. It's just different. In a good way, I hope!**

 **P.S. I plan for this fic to be even twistier than my other one! ;)**

 **P.S.S. You all need to read the A/N at the end of this chapter, it's important.**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything but the plot line!**

* * *

 _i'm sorry, mother... i'm sorry, i let you down_

* * *

Being the new girl sucked.

Absolutely fucking _sucked_.

Not only was she arriving in the middle of the first semester but she left so abruptly that she didn't even say goodbye to her best friend or her mom.

It was for the best, she supposed.

Ally grumbled as she thought of the plane ride. She had been situated between an odorous, fat old man with a beard longer than her hair and a pregnant woman who constantly looked as if she were ready to give birth.

Not to mention the fucking kid who kept kicking her goddamn chair.

Ally pulled her luggage into a little building at the end of the cul-de-sac where a subdivision of dorms were located.

Ally already checked in with the admin. Her classes started tomorrow. For now, she was free to do whatever her mind pleased.

The University of Miami bustled with young adults left and right. Ally only knew two people in the entire state of Florida; her dad and that girl Trish who just showed her to her dorm. The admin were cool, but she'd rather not relive that experience again.

Her dorm was identical to all the rest in her subdivision of on-campus homes. Only she didn't have to share it with a roommate. There were no other students that needed dorms at this time.

The interior was decorated with furniture Ally assumed was in every other dorm. She glanced around the small but spacious room. Two beds, two closets, a shared cabinet with a window looming over it, two desks and a rug occupied the room. The beds, closets and desks were placed on opposite walls. Ally instinctively walked over to the left side of the room.

She unpacked her luggage; her clothes into the closet, her stationary on the desk, her books in the cabinet. Ally decided to only occupy one of the closets and only one side of the cabinet, however. She didn't want to be selfish.

Ally's unpacking-flow stopped when reached a black garbage bag. A piece of duct tape was slapped on the front. It was labelled.

 _OFF LIMITS._

Ally quickly stuffed that back into her luggage and zipped the suitcase shut. She pushed the case under her bed. Satisfied, Ally stood up and clapped her hands together, ridding imaginary dust.

Now she was going to go out and make some friends.

Actually, scratch that.

She wasn't ready to face the world yet.

The beginning of sophomore year had already been fucked up. Sophomore year of college was supposed to be when the wild times happen. Yet, the first half of the first semester back in New York had been goddamn tragic. She was glad she's thousands of miles away now.

Ally didn't bother to change out of her clothes; a complex gray blouse and darker gray jeans matching with a pair of black flats. She left her dorm, locking the door behind her. She twirled the key around her finger once before stuffing it into her pocket.

She wished she had a car. Then she could go out into the city and explore. She had never been to Miami, despite the fact her dad lived here.

However, as soon as Ally counted thirty-three steps from her dorm she stopped dead in her tracks. Glancing in her direction was that Trish girl who escorted her to her dorm earlier.

Ally calmed her breathing and offers a small wave.

The girl waved back.

Progress.

Ally decided this girl wasn't the devil and walked over to her. She took her time, because Trish had returned to talking to her companion.

Ally stopped in front of Trish, glad the other girl suddenly disappeared down the hall and into another dorm. "Hi. Trish right?"

"You got it," the curly-haired girl said with a grin. "And you're Ally. How are you liking your dorm so far? You have it all to yourself, you lucky duck."

Ally blushed because she wasn't expecting her to be so nice. "It's great. And how are you enjoying _your_ dorm? You've got a roommate to protect you from the monsters at night," she said teasingly. Trish wrinkled her nose.

"Well, now that you're all settled in, how about I show you the rest of campus?"

"That would be great, thanks."

While they walk, Ally learned Trish's dorm is just three down from hers, that she had a brother still in high school and that she'd rather be robbing banks than studying business management.

"It's much less tedious than four years of work and tests."

They continued walking.

Trish started, "This is a single subdivision of dorms on campus in the residence hall. I'm guessing you already know where the others are since you've passed by them on the way in." Trish continues down the hallway. "Girls and guys are separated, of course. Sorry to burst any bubbles."

"No bubbles harmed," Ally reassured Trish. The Latina flashed her a wink. Ally followed in suit, observing the artwork in frames in the wall.

"You can have visitors though," Trish said, winking at her again. They continued walking down the hall. "Communal bathrooms," Trish said, pointing towards the opening in the wall. "One at the other end of the hall, too."

Trish passed a big room with the door wide open. Ally raised her eyebrows but didn't say much. They walk out of the building into the heart of UM. "Outside of the dorms," Trish explained.

"Kinda got that," she deadpanned, clicking her tongue.

Trish led the way around the plain where Ally saw a bunch of students milling around. Some had binders open on the grass in a study group, while others sat under the shade of a tree and texted the day away. Ally's eyes wander over to a group of boys playing football in muscle tees. She quickly swallowed before looking away.

It's been far too long since she's last had a good one.

 _Fucking asshole._

Ally followed Trish to the main buildings of the school. Trish showed her the library that was closest to her and the dining hall most convenient for her. "But the west dining hall usually has the best food. Chef Krum makes the best cookies."

"Noted."

They passed the lecture halls, the track field, another large field with picnic tables and finally the parking lot. "The parking lot is usually where a lot of things get stolen and whatnot. If you have a car I suggest you lock it up real good."

"Are we allowed to leave campus after hours?" Ally asked. She isn't clear on the ground rules of her new education facilities. Although, she could have guessed they were the same like back in New York, she wanted to test the strings. Trish shook her head, however.

"Only on weekends. And for emergencies," she said. Then, the Latina lowered her voice, using a hand as a screen. "If you sneak out, I suggest Wednesdays."

Ally broke into a grin slowly. "Why Wednesdays?"

"Apparently, it's when students have the most classes. No one sneaks out in the middle of the week anyway."

Ally Dawson wasn't no one.

Trish allowed her lead the way back to her dorm. They passed by the huge room with the door open again. "What's this?" Ally asked. She peeked a head inside before Trish can answer.

"Common room," Trish said. "Instead of having people visit your dorm directly they can meet you in the common room."

"Can we go inside?" Ally asked. She doesn't know why she's asking permission when the girl literally just stated that it's free for anyone to step inside. Trish nodded her head.

Ally stepped inside of the common room. People were talking to one another and laughing and lounging around. Ally spied a little pool table in the middle of the room. A TV hung on the wall beside it. Bright, neon beanbag chairs surrounded a table near the back of the room. More couches caught her eye.

"Neat," she said.

Ally was tired of being cheery towards Trish. Her energy had been used up with all that walking and remembering all the little things Trish had said. But because Trish had been nothing but nice and good to her, she continued to be interested in the little things.

Trish led her to one of the beanbag chairs. Ally plopped down, grateful to finally be sitting after an estimated forty minutes of walking.

"Classes start tomorrow?" Trish asked.

"Yeah."

"What are you studying?"

"English," she replied. "A major in English and maybe a minor in political science," Ally said, thinking critically.

Trish frowns. "Maybe?"

"See, I also want to be a marine biologist," she said. "It's kind of stupid but-"

"No way! I think you should make that a goal."

"I'm still deciding if I should lean more towards political sciences or marine biology. I'm like," Ally paused, collecting her thoughts. "Sixty percent with political science and like forty with marine bio."

That's not the entire story.

She actually adored marine biology way more than political science.

The entire story included her fucking ex-boyfriend and his stupid words that that she listened to. And his dream that she wanted to be a part of that left no room for a marine biologist. And the fact that he liked clownfish best because it was _Nemo_.

Clownfish.

"Take marine bio if you have time," Trish said. "I bet you'll be a great marine biologist one day. I mean, if you haven't become the president yet." The dark-haired girl winked.

"When I'm president and you rob a bank, I'll be sure to let you off with a warning," Ally said, winking back. She couldn't wink. It was an awkward feeling on her face.

That was an understatement only certain males knew of.

"Well, I best be going," Trish said. "I got an assignment due tomorrow morning." The Latina stands up. Ally realized she has growing fond of the girl. Her humorous attitude, her striking confidence and standout clothing. "See you around, Ally."

"See you," she echoed. Trish disappeared down the hallway. Ally sat in the beanbag chair for a while before deciding to get up. She let her face fall.

Ally walked back to her dormitory, unlocking the door and closing it behind her. It was barely noon and she didn't have anything better to do.

She had made no friends other than Trish. She hated her dorm already, hated the thought of marine biology, hated the fact that she doesn't have a roommate, hated the boys playing football right outside her window.

God-fucking-damn it.

Ally walked over to the in the center of the back wall and closed the blinds.

Ally sat on her bed, took off her shoes and closed her eyes. _One, two, three..._ She counted to calm herself down. That was what her therapist said worked best, anyway.

 _Four, five, six..._

Ally imagined those guys playing football again. How defined their arms were when they threw the football. And how nice their smiles were, and the swoop of their hair. And how their shirts were totally asking to be ripped off their bodies.

 _Seven, eight, nine..._

Ally took a deep breath.

 _Ten._

All better.

Even though she had walked enough today, Ally decided to check out the library. She wanted to scourge for an interesting novel to read. Ally got up off the bed and retraced her footsteps out the door and down the corridor.

She made it back outside, avoiding the field of college guys throwing around a football. She wandered over to the library, huffing at the heat.

New York wasn't this hot.

She brokes her own promise and her eyes wandered over to the field.

 _Definitely_ not this hot.

Ally raced inside the library facility. She was instantly grateful for the air-conditioned state the moment she stepped foot into the building.

Immediately she found the non-fiction section. She was a sucker for biology. Especially marine biology.

Ally grabbed a few books. She got her issued library card tomorrow when classes started. So for now, she just decided to enjoy them at the back table of the library. Ally mentally squealed. All these new books she had never read before. All sitting in front of her, ready to be read.

But as she started to read, she became bored. Extremely bored. She didn't have ADHD-which she thought she had for a period of time- but she just couldn't focus on the diagram of a manatee in front of her.

So she placed the books back into their respective places on the shelves and left the library. _Where next?_ She had an entire day to kill.

If only she had a car. She could ride into the city and check it out for herself.

Or visit her dad.

 _Haha, very funny._

She was supposed to drop by her dad's place before checking into UM. Only, she didn't. She didn't because she despised her dad. The dad that left and only occasionally sends Christmas cards spelling her name with an _ie_ instead of a _y_.

Ally was back in her dorm, on the bed and thinking. She had an entire day before her classes started, she had nowhere to go, nothing to do and was bored out of her mind.

She contemplated the meaning of life for a bit before deciding to back out of that topic.

Bored was a new feeling for her. Back in New York on a Tuesday like this, she would have been skipping a class to head out with her ex-boyfriend to some park alley to do some things that would keep her occupied for the next four hours.

She shut out the memory immediately as she thought about it. She came to Miami to get _away_ from that.

But now she was too worked up over the mere thought of her old life that she started to hyperventilate. Ally took quick breaths, fanning her hands over her face to create air. It was too fucking hot and everything was too fucking wrong.

She counted to ten again.

She was bored.

So she decided to knock on Trish's door.

Ally remembered Trish's dorm. Three down from hers. Ally counted three doors as she walked before stopping in front of a cream-coloured door. It was identical to the rest.

Ally knocked once.

Twice.

Three times.

Trish opened the door.

"Ally!" The Latina exclaimed. "Come in, come in." She ushered Ally in. The brunette hadn't even uttered a word yet.

"Trish," she started as the Latina closes the door. "I'm bored. What do you do around here when you're bored?" Ally allowed the words out of her mouth.

"Bored?" asked Trish. Then she laughed. "Honey, around here, bored is a rare occasion. The amount of homework? And I'm only taking like, two classes a day," Trish mused. "Tough luck."

Ally groaned. "I checked out the library but I just couldn't focus on the books or anything and like," she paused. "You're my only friend so. Couldn't do much about that either."

Trish laughed. She pulled out her phone. "Maybe my number will help reassure you about that friend thing."

The two girls exchanged phone numbers.

Ally tipped her head to the side as Trish thinks. "Have you ever played pool before?"

She recalled the pool table in the middle of the common room. She shook her head, a little embarrassed. "Never."

The Latina stood up. She motioned for Ally to follow her out of her dorm. "Since this paper is going nowhere, I think I should teach you how to play pool."

Ally blinked. She was bored, but not ready to embarrass herself in front of her new friend. Possibly the only one she'll have for a while. "Haha, funny," she tried nervously.

Trish rolled her eyes. "C'mon." Ally gave in and followed obediently behind Trish. Trish walked down the hall and entered the common room; Ally in suit.

"I know you said you've never played pool before but honestly, it's not that hard." Trish grabbed one of the two pool sticks on the table. She tossed Ally one. Ally fumbled with the thing before it comes to a rest in her hands.

She sighed; half out of relief and half out of nervousness.

"So what do you know about pool?" Trish was resting with her stick parallel to the ground, her hand on top of the stick.

Ally tried to copy her. "You use the stick to hit the ball and then the other balls go into different holes. Or, that's the goal, at least."

Trish nodded her head approvingly. "Essentially, that's the goal, yes." Then she went over thirty other rules Ally didn't even know pool had. Ally's head was spinning by the time Trish started setting up for a game.

They played a game of pool.

Ally lost, of course.

And after, when they were resting in the beanbag chairs Ally learned a little more about Trish. She was taking a few performing arts courses just for her love of performing and screenplay. Ally told her that she was considering getting a job soon to save up for a car.

"I suggest the Melody Diner just a few blocks off campus," Trish started. "And no, not because I work there myself," said the Latina, hiding a smile.

Ally laughed. She was about to reply when she's interrupted by a moan.

A moan?

Quick as lightning, both girls swivelled their heads to the side. The beanbag chairs curved towards the table at the back of the room. Behind the beanbag chairs was a long table with tall chairs. A bookshelf rested against the wall behind that.

On a tall chair sat a blond.

He was tall and broad-shouldered with nice, defined arms under a dark blue t-shirt. He had long legs covered in dark, black jeans and a chain that slumped against the seat from his back pocket. His dirty shoes matched his dirty and wild hair.

On the blond sat a girl.

She was petite with straight blonde hair. Ally didn't bother going over her clothing. She didn't know where each article of clothing started or where it even stopped.

Ally wrinkled her nose in disgust. The two blonds were making out. The blond slipped his hand under the girl's shirt. Ally stuck her tongue out before turning away. A moan pierces the air.

"Jesus Christ," Ally muttered. Even Trish looked uncomfortable. "Who's the dingo with a dick and the unlucky chick?"

"Yeah," said the Latina slowly. "That's Austin Moon and his girl of the week."

"Girl of the week?" asked Ally, still trying to block out the sex tape noises.

"I don't even know," Trish sighed. "But one thing's for sure, she's a freshman and he's a sophomore taking advantage of her."

"I've heard worse," said Ally. College _did_ mean hooking up.

"I assure you, nothing is worse than Austin Moon," Trish grumbled. "He's the labelled residential bad boy. Frankly, the title suits him." After a moment Trish added, "He's dangerous and I suggest you stay away from him."

If she were still in New York, Ally would have defied Trish's request before it even came out of her mouth. However, now that she was in Miami; her life started over. She had a clean history, a fresh face and no intention of getting into any trouble.

So she listened to Trish.

"Why?"

But not without reason, of course.

Trish opened her mouth to reply to Ally but a deep voice made both girls jump. "You two talking about me?"

Both girls turned their heads around. Ally caught sight of the blond's face more clearly now. High cheek bones, sharp jaw, piercing brown eyes and straight yet crooked teeth.

He was different.

"No."

"Yes."

Trish and Ally answered at the same time.

Trish gave Ally a look of pure astonishment. Ally just shook her head. "Stop making the soundtrack of the entire damn room sound like a porn video."

Behind her, Ally heard Trish's hand cover her mouth.

The tall blond glared at her with his deep brown eyes. Austin let the girl down off his lap, tapping her on the ass as she scampered off. The girl fixed her skirt as she went. He got up off the chair and walked over to the two. Ally's thoughts scrambled like eggs. He's fucking six feet tall.

"Sweetie, if you knew what a porn video sounded like you'd know for sure that ain't it," said Austin. He looked her up and down for a second. "Though, if we're on the topic of porn, I'd like to know when you're free."

Ally snorted. _Was this guy for real?_ "In your dreams, blondie."

"Come on, it'll be quick and fast and then you'll get bragging rights for the rest of the week." His lazy slur made Ally roll her eyes.

"You're fucking disgusting," she told him.

"Only one of the many nicknames I have," Austin said, giving her a half-grin. He looked so nonchalant. She couldn't believe he could be such a sleazy rat.

Behind her, Ally heard Trish get up. "Well, this was fun and all. See you around, Ally." Trish practically ran out of the room. Ally huffed.

Ally's blood was still boiling, however. She waves to Trish as the Latina dashed away. Austin lets out a low whistle, though it wasn't directed at Trish. If it was, Ally wasn't sure what she would have done.

"So, how's about you and I grab a bite and we can talk about that porn video?" asked Austin. He ran a hand through his unruly blond hair, his knuckles catching on some knots.

Ally stuck her tongue out as she stands up. She barley reached his shoulder with her black flats on. Goddamn it. "I suggest you stop being a little rat before your girlfriend finds out."

Austin tipped his head to the side. "Cassidy? Sweetheart, she won't mind."

"Do _not_ call me sweetheart," she snapped. For one thing, if he really knew her, she wasn't sure _sweetheart_ was an appropriate nickname. For another, he was a fucking asshole. She prepared to briskly walk away from him when he steps into her direct line of pace. Ally glared at him. "Excuse me?"

Austin blinked. He lowered his head until he was staring right at her from her height. Ally held his gaze. His eyes were as wild as his hair. The longer she held his gaze, the harder it was to keep it. "What's your name?"

 _Ally Don't-Wanna-Deal-With-You Dawson._

"Ally," she said. He was still holding her gaze.

"I think sweetheart would suit you better," The blond snickerd. "I've never seen you around here before."

"It's called moving. Something you do when you're done with shit." She tried walking around him again. He didn't budge.

Austin straightened. Ally let out a small breath of relief. "Austin," he said, introducing himself as if they hadn't just talked about adultery without knowing each other's names.

Ally opened her mouth to say something when Austin suddenly grinned. It caught her off guard. His teeth, albeit not perfect, complemented his lips and dimples. When he smiled, he looked a little less rough and maybe a little tolerable.

But she was in a different state and city now. She couldn't keep thinking like this.

"You're very pretty, princess," he said nonchalantly. Ally blinked away her thoughts.

"Don't call me princess, either," Ally said, but didn't comment on the pretty. She disagreed, but realized the more she spoke, the more he pushed and prodded at her.

"I've never had a brunette who's as fiery as a redhead," Austin commented. He cocked his head to the side. She was wondering why she was still facing him and not back in her dorm rethinking her decision to move to Texas.

"First of all, you've never _had_ me," she stated. "Second, do not categorize women like that. Brunettes can be fiery. Redheads don't necessarily have to be fiery."

Austin seemed to be enjoying her anger. "Yeah? Tell me more, Feminist of the Year."

"Don't you have something better to do rather than waste my time? Why don't you go chase after that girlfriend of yours?"

Austin tipped his head to the side, his eyes going innocently wide. "I know a few things that big mouth of yours would be better at."

Ally tried to slide around him after that snarky comment but he blocked her way again by sliding to the right. "Jesus Christ, leave me _alone_."

"Not until you give me your number," he said, licking his lips. As he talked, she slipped behind him. Austin pouted at her while she walked away from him, backwards.

"You want my number?" She asked, still backing away slowly.

"I'd give you a few number of hours we could spend together." Austin whipped out his phone from his back pocket. A piece of paper slipped out of his back pocket along with a straw wrapper.

"Eight, oh, hell no," she started. "One, seven, don't bother me aga-in." She said 'again' in a way so it rhymed with seven. Austin frowned. "Five, three, buh-bye, sweetie."

And then she was out the door as Austin was thinking about what number hell was.

Ally made it back to her dorm. She slammed the door and sat on her bed, not bothering to take her shoes off. She sighed, putting her head in her hands. She counted to ten and slowly took deep breaths, replenishing her lungs of air.

Being the new girl sucked.

Absolutely fucking _sucked_.

* * *

 **Ok.**

 **If you have been following me on twitter you may know that the rating of this fanfic may change throughout the course of me writing it. Just putting a warning out there in advance 'cause I've got stuff planned. ;)**

 **Annnnnnnnd I half-edited this and it took me two days to change it from present tense to past tense. I tried writing in present but I couldn't do it. It's making the other chapters harder to write. So I spent two days changing all the _is_ to _was._**

 **ALSO if you want to listen to the song that fits the chapter (which is gonna be the title of each chapter), be my guest. If you wanna scan over the lyrics too... ;)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	2. wolf in sheep's clothing

**Helloooo.**

 **I hope you're all enjoying your week! I'm back with another update of my story! Yay! I had a blast reading all the enthusiastic reviews from the last chapter, thanks for that! Prepare yourself for chapter 2!**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything!**

* * *

 _you've always been a huge piece of shit_

* * *

Ally's classes started today.

A Wednesday. It was sunny and nice out and she was mad that she had to be inside and learning when she could be outside and enjoying the sunshine that rarely made its way to New York. Instead she was going to be cooped up in a lecture hall for minutes that would drag on and on.

Trish invited her to go out for a late lunch after her two classes ended. Ally had English Lit and Marine Biology back to back. Her last class ended at 2:30pm sharp.

She was excited. Finally her day would be spent usefully and everything can fall back into routine again.

Routine was good. It didn't allow any time to think about the past or the future. Just the present.

English Literature was held in the lecture hall across campus. Ally began the trek, lugging her leather backpack over her shoulder and fixing her hair into a braid as she went. Her choice of a navy sweater and light capris augment the blazing heat.

She wished she had sunglasses.

Ally found the room in the building she was going to be studying in. She was nervous as hell. First day of classes where everyone else was already in the middle of studying something. She was going to have to catch up.

Wonderful.

Her class was already filled with students with ten minutes to spare before class even started. Seats were being filled up fast. Ally stole a seat in the second-last row of the room, right beside the windows to her left. Hopefully she wouldn't have to do introductions and stuff like they made new students do in high school.

And she was right.

The professor strolled into the room just before class was scheduled to begin. He had wispy, graying hair and was wearing a sweater vest over a light green long-sleeve. Grandpa clothing. Students shuffled around before falling into empty seats.

He began class as any other college professor would. Ally realized that she didn't have to catch up on anything; just learn what everyone else was. She'd fall into place sooner or later.

Ally stared out the window as the professor began to talk about Emily Dickinson. Sure, English Literature was her favourite course she was currently taking— a major is what she had in mind— but that didn't mean she had to pay attention.

Although, she was trying her best to.

Ally stared beyond the bushes out the window and more out onto campus. The west lecture hall was by one of the parking lots. She counted the number of blue cars, red cars and silver cars.

Forty minutes of class went by. It was only then did a person shuffle into the room from the front door. He flew into a seat two rows in front of her, his backpack wide open, papers threatening to fly away. He sat down so hard, the ground rattled.

Austin Moon.

He was in her English Lit class?

Ally's blood boiled at the thought of him. He was such a sleazy rat. Ally didn't see how he could be dangerous though, as Trish mentioned yesterday. He seemed harmless except for the fact that he was blatantly annoying.

Ally made a face.

She returned to counting cars.

"Late for class again, Mr. Moon?" The professor looked at him from the top of his round spectacles.

"Traffic," the blond answered the professor without looking up. He sounded winded. He seemed to be looking for something that must have fallen out of his backpack. She saw him mouth a curse.

"You live on campus," the professor mused. He pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose before explaining to Austin what the rest of the class was doing. Ally concluded the English Lit professor was cool.

The room grew silent again. Ally could hear the person beside her breathing.

Nothing happened for the rest of class. Homework in form of an essay was assigned and then class was dismissed. The professor waved a hand at the class before disappearing out the door; probably to refill his coffee mug with tea.

Ally packed up her things. It was weird. She got through an entire class without having her attention waver beyond her control. Back in New York, she wouldn't have even bothered coming to class in the first place. There were oh so many other things she could have done during class time back in NYC.

But that was before she trashed her black clothing and skin tight dresses for wool sweaters and furry socks with ducks on them.

Ally stuffed her white, note-filled binder back into her backpack along with her pack full of stationary. She frowned when she saw her pen still lying out in the open. She'd rather have it back in the pencil case.

Ally made a quick jab for the pen, but it catches on the tips of her finger.

Her pen rolled off the desk.

Before it hit the ground, a hand snatched it up in midair. Ally's eyes travelled upwards. Looming over her stood the Cheese String Guy.

"It's a nice pen, sweetheart. Wouldn't want someone to step on it." Austin held the pen tauntingly in front of her face.

Fuck.

She snatched it from his grip, surprising him a little. Much to her disdain, the pen flew out of her hand and hit her navy sweater, drawing a dark black line from the neck hole to under her armpit.

"Charming," Austin muttered, chuckling a little.

Ally glared at him before letting out a breath. The smug look on his face caused her to lose her train of thought. _Packing._ Ally ignored him as she continued to pack up her things.

She wasn't too worried about her sweater. It was navy blue; practically black under poor lighting anyway.

While she had her back turned to place her binder into her bag, Austin hopped up onto the desk and sits. His legs dangle above the ground, although they could have been placed flat against it easily.

Ugh, tall people.

Ally groaned. Because his legs were practically taking up all of the room, she'd have to squeeze around them if she wanted to get out. The chair and desks were connected; a bar keeping them together.

Ally slung her backpack over her shoulders and glared at him. "Move."

Austin ran a hand through his hair. He's wearing a gray hoodie and washed jeans. He shook his head, giving her a grin. "Say princess, you look a little tense. I could help you relieve your stress for a few hours."

Ally laughed. "I'm guessing Cassidy busy today?"

"Sweetie, Cassidy's a past time," he said. He leaned in closer. Ally could see a faint scar on the side of his cheek that disappeared behind his ear and into his hair. "We both know I could do better."

Ally frowned at him, playing the naive card. "I think the only girl in their right mind who would go out with you needs a little help."

"Help in bed, sure."

Arguing with this guy was hopeless, she realized. Ally leaned out, shaking her head. "Just move; and leave me alone." Ally sidestepped his legs.

Quick as lightning, his dangling legs shot up, trapping her between him and the windowsill beside them. Startled, Ally jumped back, only for her legs to hit the wall under the window.

Austin hopped off the desk, his legs still around hers. The inside of his legs brushed her thighs. Ally swallowed, backing up until she was curving over the windowsill. His arms appeared on both sides of her, trapping her in between the wall.

Ally didn't know what to do. She panicked. "Invasive much?"

Austin chuckled. She could feel his breath on her face. Her breathing slowed as she caught sight of his teeth. He licked his lips. Ally's eyes travelled up to meet his and she was startled at the intensity in them.

He was good looking, she admitted to herself. His face rough around the edges, yet pure in intention and desire. From rumours, he was a dirty con who played girls until they were used up, yet they keep coming back for more. A drug that was bad yet still abused.

Once upon a time, bad boys used to be her kryptonite. In another life, she would let this boy do anything to her.

He was staring at her lips. And she found herself doing the same. "You know I don't bite, sweetheart," he muttered in a low voice.

The way his lips moved sent a shiver up her spine. He was leaning in closer. She blamed physics for the way her body drew nearer to his. She could imagine the ghost of his lips slowly descending to meet hers.

And then the professor walked in.

This wasn't another life, she reminded herself.

Seeing the professor, whistling with his nose buried in his coffee mug, she quickly faked a stumble. "Oops." Her head hit Austin in the chest. It alarmed him; exactly what she wanted. He stumbled, his arms reached out to catch her, but she was already slipping away.

God bless her quick reflexes.

"Thanks for catching my pen, by the way. Appreciate it. But next time, do us both a favour and let it hit the ground."

And then she was out the door. Ally walked briskly across campus, letting her tough facade fall. _Shit, that was too close._

Ally let out a breath of relief, trying to calm herself down. She was getting too worked up. That little stunt she pulled was going to cost her; she knew it as a fact. She fuelled the fire.

Ally needed to stay away. She couldn't keep falling into sticky situations that can lead to her untimely disaster. It happened once. And it can't keep happening again.

And, _fuck_. What was she even thinking back there? That sleazy blond rat just took advantage of the fact that she hasn't been fucked since her ex-boyfriend decided to drop her ass in the mental middle of nowhere. And she was aching for a good time.

Suddenly, English Lit didn't seem so lit anymore.

* * *

Sushi.

Trish's idea of a lunch was sushi. Ally didn't mind, no. It was just that she had no idea there was a sushi bar on campus.

Also that it wasn't just going to be Trish and her, but Trish and her other friends.

When everyone had settled down in their seats around the table Trish started, "Guys, this is Ally. She just moved from New York."

The game of icebreakers started. "Hi, Ally! I'm Dez," said a redhead sitting beside her. He was tall with striking blue eyes and freckles that dotted his face. He wore neon orange pants with a gray graphic tee tucked into it. He was grinning at her, smile wrinkles showing around his eyes.

"Nice to meet you," she tipped her head politely. Dez's grin widened at her response. Ally grew fond of his face.

Next to the redhead, a girl blonde girl spoke up. Her hair was wavy and she wore a cute romper top so confidently Ally was jealous. She didn't offer a smile of any sort, nor even lets their eyes meet for more than three seconds."Hey Ally."

"How do you do?"

"Piper."

And that was the end of that.

Trish sat beside Piper so she just nodded her head at the next person to speak up. "Kira," she said, actually sounding friendly. She was fair and had beautiful, shiny hair. Her brown eyes made every emotion on her face warm.

Kira and Dez occupied the seats beside her. Across from her are Trish and Piper. They were all flashing her warm, welcoming smiles and friendly words. The only one not saying anything polite or even smiling at her was Piper.

Ally didn't say anything, however, as the group began to order. Personally, sushi was an iffy food for her. Sometimes she liked it— craved it even. But other times, she just gets nauseous from the fishy smell and the cold rice. Currently, she was neutral.

"So, Ally." It was Kira who prompted her to speak. "Tell us more about yourself. I'm sure you haven't spilled all your secrets to Trish yet."

Trish rolled her eyes at the girl but Ally just laughed. "If I spilled all my secrets to Trish, we'd be 87 by the time I'm done."

"That sounds like a lot of secrets," Dez piped up. Ally nodded her head in agreement.

"Well. Born in Miami, moved to New York City; back in Miami now," she said. "Used to own three goldfish but they died. Got my drivers licences taken away a week after I got it. Um. My shoe size varies between three sizes sometimes. And yeah."

Ally Dawson, everyone.

"Sounds... fun," Kira said brightly. Kira seemed to be the optimist of the group; always trying to find the sunny side of things. Ally was grateful for her, making her boring life sound interesting. Or at least commenting on it.

Yet, that wasn't her life at all. Yes, she got in trouble only six goddamned days after getting her permit, but that wasn't the entire story. She was rushing to a party. She used to be the one everyone revolved their parties around. Heck, she was the life of the damn party. So of course she couldn't be late to that one night.

Luckily, before anyone else could say anything, their food arrived at the table. The group decided to order a bunch of plates and everyone can eat what they wanted to.

As they loaded up their plates, Dez went, "I heard you ran into Austin Moon yesterday."

Ally stopped her chopsticks midair but then resumed to picking up a yam roll. _Yesterday_ , not today. She sighed. "Yeah. He's..."

"Something," Kira finished for her. Ally nodded her head. "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get a piece of that ass of his but apparently he's just trouble."

"I second that," said Trish, rolling her eyes. "The trouble thing, not the ass." Dez snickered, his mouth full of salmon. "Just ask Piper over there. The lug broke her heart."

Ally gave Piper a side-glance, yet not her full attention. A sap story. Piper seemed to not be phased by the sudden attention. The blonde just chewed slowly and swallows before answering.

"Yeah," she said, although uncertain. Ally frowned.

"Why don't you tell Ally what he did," prompted Trish, oblivious to Piper's discomfort. Ally blinked as Piper squinted at Trish. She seemed to be missing something of the picture.

Ally felt uncomfortable suddenly.

"Well, long story short, he loved me, then he didn't."

"Technically, I wouldn't call what you guys had _love_ ," Dez said nonchalantly. "It was more of a one-sided relationship, particularity on your side." Piper opened her mouth for a retort but Dez ploughed on. "However, Austin did seem to show interest in you, so there's that."

"Thanks, Dez," Piper said sarcastically an edge in her tone. Ally began to put the pieces together.

Dez seemed to be the jokester, yet the most observative of them all. Trish was the mother of the group, keeping her ducklings in line and all. Kira was the outgoing one, probably the one who was friends with everyone but preferred this group. Piper was the stone-cold, quiet, mysterious girl who's had a tortured past.

Since the stone-cold, quiet, mysterious girl who's had a tortured past was already taken, Ally wasn't sure she could fit in a group like this.

"But come _on_ , guys. Can we _really_ blame Piper? He's _Austin Moon._ All the girls are constantly swooning over this guy," Kira said. She fanned her face. "Me included."

Ally piped up, "How? When he talks like a gutter rat and is the dictionary definition for _cocky ass_?"

"No one cares about any of that," explained Kira. "They care about the looks, the 'bad boy persona,' the status and reputation they'll get. Piper was a star for an entire _two days_ when they broke up. And then Austin found a new chew toy and that was the end of that."

Dez opened his mouth to comment but the spotlight was quickly snatched from him. "Can we not talk about Austin, guys. I don't wanna puke," Piper vocalized.

And that was the end of that.

The rest of the meal had been consumed by small talk about school and the weather.

She found it ironic only about an hour prior she had been studying about ways to save coral reefs and endangered fish. And now she was probably eating the cousin of that extinct octopus.

When all had ended, the group walked to their respective dorm buildings, evening quickly falling. Trish and Ally resided in one building while Kira and Piper were present in another. Dez lived across campus.

"It was fun meeting you all," Ally said. "I'm looking forward to the day when we can do this again."

The responses to her farewell mirrored her words.

Ally made her way back to her dorm. The lunch or outing proceeded longer than anyone expected even with the fact that all they talked about was their classes and the weather in Miami differed from the weather in The Big Apple.

It was 6:36pm and she was sitting alone in her dorm. Ally brushed her hair while she whistled contently to the peaceful silence surrounding her. She liked the quiet. It gave her time to think; but as she was thinking about having _thoughts_ she realized the silence left her _alone_ with her thoughts. Which could be potentially dangerous.

Also, that she couldn't whistle.

Ally washed her face and changed into appropriate clothing for the night; a comfy, loose t-shirt and equally comfy pajama bottoms. She grabbed her knapsack lying by the door and rummaged through it for her English binder.

She sat, criss-crossed on the bed, biting the top of her blue pen with her binder in her lap. An essay in progress rested in front of her. Ally's brain was blank, however.

Just then, her phone buzzed where it rested on the desk on her side of the dorm. Ally quickly moved aside her binder, grateful for an excuse not to do her homework and checked her phone.

 _Incoming call from Dallas._

Ally quickly declined the call before even checking who the call had been from. Yet, she knew. She did this daily; she knew the routine.

She wondered why she still hadn't blocked his number yet.

Ally hopped back onto her bed, bouncing twice as the duvet took her weight. She didn't let the little call bother her.

Ally returned to scrambling for ideas for her essay. She groaned once she found out that another criteria for the essay required her to look up some information on the internet.

An essay turned into a research project; science was evolving.

Ally started up her laptop that she unpacked onto the desk yesterday night. While she waited, Ally thought about how she should be looking for a job as well. She did want a car. A car meant she could drive around anywhere and everywhere. A car would be an escape from everything, including this place she was already beginning to think was a hellhole.

So instead of looking up information on Emily Dickinson and writing an essay about her favourite poem, Ally went searching for jobs. She had no experience in anything but the mere summer job two years ago waitressing for her uncle at his restaurant. Of course, she scraped by four months and a half before she got fired.

She was on her laptop for longer than she anticipated. Ally's eyes grew weary and tired. So she quickly found her glasses— that were solely on her face because she was alone— and continued the hunt.

But then she realized, if she had a job and was making oodles of money but didn't know what car to buy, how long would she have to work for? And how would she know which job paid her the best and which would fit her schedule and if it would all be worth it for the car she wanted.

So Ally switched from job-searching to car-searching.

Cars were more her forte.

She took a stupid class sophomore year of high school. Introduction to Engineering. She took it only because he said he liked cars and would like to own an auto shop one day.

She fucking _hated_ that class. The worst class of her entire day, no correction, year. All they did was talk about parts of machines and how CAD— which she only learned was Computer Aided Design halfway through the year— was essential to the technological revolution. She didn't even want to remember how off topic her teacher got every time someone mentioned something not CAD related.

However, the one-year chosen elective course did help her get some intuition on which cars were more or less better than others. She had even helped her mom choose a second-hand Volvo over a new, Honda Civic due to the fact that the Honda had been making weird noises and spewing black toxic from the exhaust pipe.

Of course that decision could have been made without an "expert" on all things engineering.

She absolutely adored cars.

Her dream car was a Porsche Carrera. She didn't know why. She just really really _really_ wanted one. Preferably a black one.

She had a Porsche back in New York. But it was a cheap, 928 model with a scratch at the rear and a dent on the opposite-driver's side. But it was a Porsche, nonetheless. Her dream car, if not a mere taste of it.

It used to not have a scratch and a dent. Nor did it have its rear blinker replaced three times. That was all because of a time in her life she did not want to repeat.

It had been four hours a few minutes. 10:58pm. Her eyes were tired and her mouth was dry and her head was just swimming. She was drowning in cars and jobs and past and present and the thought of Dallas.

Fuck Dallas.

Ally closed her laptop and rubbed her eyes, setting her glasses askew. She took them off and headed out of her dorm. She was going to wash her face; maybe wake up her system only to get ready for bed.

Ally made her way out of her dorm, yawning and rubbing her left eye with her pale knuckle.

The hallway lights were dim. Ally realized NYU's lights were a lot brighter due to the fact that most incidents with assault and all that lovely crap happened at night. Maybe UM's had more responsible students.

Her dorm wasn't far from the bathroom. However, it took a good thirty seconds by leisure to get from her living space to the washroom. She was twenty seconds through, rubbing her eyes and yawning when she bumped into someone.

When she was tired, she was awfully cranky. So when she stumbled a little, she groaned. It almost came out like a growl. "Watch where you're going—"

"Shh." The harshness of the tone startled Ally enough for her to stop rubbing her eye and squint. Standing in front of her was a wide-eyed Austin Moon with a finger to his lips. "Shh," he repeated.

She frowned. "Stop shushing me, I'm not a child."

"Shh," he said again, urging her to keep quiet. Ally didn't understand why but kept silent anyway. She felt a little gross from staring at the screen of her laptop of a while, but could hold off a good face wash for another five seconds.

She did a once-over on his attire. A plain black hoodie and equally black jeans.

And then the five seconds were up.

Ally rolled her eyes. Austin's finger was still at his lip. "This was nice and all but I gotta go."

"Goddamn it, shut _up_ ," Austin hissed a little frantic. He looked behind his shoulder towards a dorm door. Ally was taken aback.

"Don't tell me what to do," Ally snapped. She tried to barge past him but he was standing in the goddamn middle of the hallway looking all distressed. "Just move aside so I can get where I need to go and you can—"

Just then, Ally heard a doorknob rattle. There was shuffling and muffling and the doorknob seemed to be jammed, to Austin's favour. He looked scared of whoever was on the other side of that door.

And then Ally heard it. "Where is that damned _son of a bitch?_ "

"Fuck," Austin hissed. Before she could even react, the world spun and she was suddenly up against the wall, squished between it and him. Austin threw on his hood quickly. His left arm flew up to rest on the wall, the sleeve of the hoodie drooping to protect her face.

Austin leaned in close, his blond hair falling into his eyes. He was too close, she realized. And he was staring right at her. And she was frightened for a second, that the scenario in the morning will replay itself.

There was about two centimetres between them. But then, Austin slid his finger to her lips— probably to his own as well. "Shh," he whispered, eyes pleading. Ally could smell tobacco on his breath.

From the left of them—which, she noted was where the dorm he seemed to be spying was located— it would look like they were a couple making out; with his arm on the wall and her position under his body.

She tried looking over his shoulder as the door unlocked and the voice of a muttering girl could be heard. "Little piece of _shit_... where is he?" Austin seemed to tense at the sound of the girl's voice.

A thought popped into her head. _Could that be Cassidy?_ Sneaky little gutter rat spying on his girl.

Ally couldn't see over his shoulder. Stumped, she returned to the task at hand; trying not to puke. Austin was still staring intently into her eyes, his finger still on her lips.

The door behind them closed with a click.

Austin let out a breath of relief. Ally took another whiff of the toxic on his breath. Fuck, she's missed tobacco.

Before she could ask what had just happened, Austin gave her one last glance before moving like a wisp of smoke and disappeared down the hall. A blur of black against the dim hallway lights.

Ally yawned again, suddenly _so_ tired. She made her way to the bathroom and splashes some water onto her face. She wished she had brought her toothbrush and all, so she could just brush her teeth and be done with the night.

And so she could've jammed something up his nose.

When she really did finish with brushing her teeth and washing up and everything, she hopped into bed, pushing all thoughts out of her mind.

Except one.

Austin Moon sneaking in a girl's hallway at 11pm.

Ally mentally shrugged, banishing the thought. She could care less, honestly. Except for the fact that he had to push her against the wall to have his way with whatever he was snooping around for. God.

She was nice to him, not exposing him to that girl who he was hiding from. She could have been a lot meaner; worse than keeping silent and obliging to his words.

Next time, if he laid a fucking finger on her, she'll punch him in the fucking _face_.

* * *

 **Anddddd the plot thickens!**

 **You all got to learn a little bit more about Ally (and her past!) this chapter. Also, I did a lot of research on cars for this chapter lmao. I stared at pictures and read user rates on which car models were better than others. Pls understand that Ally just wants the best cars for herself. That's honestly all I have to say for this chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	3. one for the road

**hEJFEdkeuf**

 **You don't understand how TEDIOUS this chapter was to write. It took me _4 months_ to finish this short-ish chapter. And I'm not that satisfied with how it turned out, either. But it's done! And it includes all the things I wanted it to, so I'm sure that's all that matters. :)**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything!**

* * *

 _there's no need to show me 'round baby, i feel like i've been in here before_

* * *

Mouths.

Gossip travelled fast.

It started off as a small, meaningless whisper meant as a joke; or maybe just a report of news from one friend to another. It was harmless— just telling something that you heard or saw earlier in the day.

And then that friend you told it to tells it to someone else. Sorry, it was funny as heck! Or maybe it was _so_ scandalous, you were just _dying_ to report it to someone else; just for a reaction that you can gasp in shock and say 'I know!' to, fanning your face and mirroring the disbelief.

Suddenly, a small rumour turns into a big thing. People were repeating those words over and over again. It was during this stage of the rumour that theories begin to speculate behind the rumour.

 _Who slept with who? Oh no, she didn't sleep with him, just over at his house, delivering those cookies for his sick grandma and to check up on her dog!_

And then suddenly, the center of attention was fixated on that one person who accidentally spilled milk on the front of their shirt but is _apparently_ secretly an FBI agent and part-time trapezes performer for the circus while juggling the task of taking care of three Persian cats, one of which pregnant with kits of an old alley cat.

Yeah, gossip sucked.

That was what Ally thought as she walked across campus to her Political Science class.

Eyes.

Eyes stared at her as she walked a leisurely pace, slowly growing accustomed to the blazing sun, even though it was only Monday morning.

She planned to keep a low profile, moving from the big city to a more sunny state where more girls would be highly noticeable for tanned skin and wavy hair and short shorts.

Back in New York, girls like her were all over the place. All miniskirts and leather and sharing milkshakes with a single, chewed up straw.

However, her plan was suddenly doomed. Eyes followed her as she made her way into the lecture hall. She walked into a classroom only a few rooms down from where she took English Lit.

Sadly, the two classes were on different days. It would have been more convenient if they weren't.

Heads perked up as she walked into the room. Eyes clung to her slightly large maroon t-shirt and blue jeans and brown leather backpack. They followed her to her seat where she didn't quiet acknowledge them, but she knew they were there.

Ears.

Ears were quickly being used to listen to the mouths that whispered her name. She used her own ears to try to pick up some of the words being said.

"—She's—new girl, huh?"

"Yeah. Apparently—and oh—"

"Where?"

"Wisconsin or like New York."

"—saw her with who?"

"—and they said that—"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What's—special about—"

"I don't see anything worth—"

"—Yeah, and apparently—with—and then Austin Moon—"

"Oh my god! Austin Moon?"

By that point, the whispers became silent screams. A battle of who can out-shush each other began. Frantic eyes looked in her direction, seeing if she had heard any of that. Ally pretended to be preoccupied with her interesting blue pen.

Uncap.

Cap.

 _Ooh, ballpoint._

She had been living on campus for less than a week and already everyone knew her name, a sense of where she was from and that she has had human interaction with Austin Moon.

She got a sense that the _residential bad boy_ title was a democratic decision everyone on campus probably made some point in their life at UM. Any news revolving everyone's favourite rat became gossip. Maybe it was because their lives were so boring they struck out and tuned into everyone's favourite live-action show.

So of course, with her luck, she stumbled upon him and created a ruckus on her first day at a new school. And now all eyes were on her. Austin's new muse was everyone's new muse.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"—with Piper."

"Wait what? Shit. She's gonna—"

"I know."

"Poor girl."

"—got a reputation."

"What? Impossible. Just—at her."

"He's into those—she looks exactly like them!"

"Well shit. You don't think he'll let her—"

"No."

The room fell hush at the answer. Ally wondered what they were talking about. The pieces of information she was receiving wasn't enough. Then, she frowned. Were they even talking about her anymore?

The whispers continued throughout the room.

And then the professor walked in—a lady with striking, mysterious gray eyes—and the room grew silent.

A pair of eyes wandered curiously towards Ally.

Hands.

Hands were used to raise a single finger that meant _fuck off._

* * *

She felt like she was in a movie.

She was sitting on the grass on the campus field, the sun beating down on her. She was wearing the same outfit, except she's rolled her jeans to mid-calf courtesy of the blazing heat.

The sun was ruthless, mercilessly beating down on the field. The grass was already yellow and patchy, dried from the bright sun. Ally placed a hand over her eyes to block out the sun, huffing at the midday heat.

Trish and Kira sat across from her. Kira had her phone out, typing away while simultaneously chatting up a storm with her and Trish. Trish, on the other hand, was at work, trying to whistle by a blade of green grass.

"And then she was like, 'Um, _no way_. So am I!'" Kira mimicked Elle who was her friend over their mutual love for glee club. "So then we both got the lactose-free yogurt."

"Sounds lovely, dear," Trish said, distracted with her blade of grass. She brought the leaf to her lips, blowing into her hands, but failing to make a noise. She frowned.

Ally laughed. It had been a few days, but already she loved the few friends she had made. "How was that yogurt, Kira?"

"Splendid," she replied, winking. Ally smiled in response.

She looked across the field. The guys playing football always seemed to be present and doing what they do when she was around. She deemed herself cursed. Cursed for thinking that maybe she could sneak one of them into her dorm and convince him to stay the night.

Or forever.

She wouldn't mind, really.

Maybe they can go out for some yogurt after.

She jumped when Kira let out a whistle directed towards one of the football players. One of them—Ally believed his name was Trent—turned and spotted their group. He gave Kira a wink before catching the football and throwing it back to one of his buddies.

"Smooth," Trish uttered.

"You should try it sometime," Kira replied. Ally watched the banter between Trish and Kira.

"Please, Kira. Not everyone on this planet needs someone to make them happy."

"Maybe not you, since you've got that jail robbery plan underway," Kira retorted good-naturedly. "But some of us just want fairytale endings, alright?"

"I don't think you'd find a fairytale ending in college," Trish countered. "But, by all means, you have my blessing. Good luck, child."

"Thanks mom."

"You two are hilarious," Ally commented.

"Hilarious and heatstroke are two different things, Ally." Trish shook her head and flicked off the grass sticking to her hands. She had given up trying to whistle by the blade of grass. "You New Yorkers must not know what that is."

Ally just shook her head. She opened her mouth to reply, but Kira quickly cut her off. "Hey! Here comes Piper!"

All three girls turned their heads. The wavy blond previously mentioned came running towards their little group, a flyer in her hand. It ruffled in the wind and Ally was scared for a second it was going to blow away.

But it didn't.

Piper stopped, breathless in front of the group. She thrust the flyer out for anyone to take. Trish grabbed it from her hands. Piper put a hand on her chest, falling to her knees to sit in the grass beside them. "Fall Formal," she gasped.

The Fall Formal, Ally understood, was a sort of formal gathering of UM college students. It was really a Friday night party with wine and small talk between people. It didn't sound like such a big deal to her, yet she heard otherwise from many, many people.

"Ah, the good ol' formal," Trish said. She passed the flyer to Kira who gave it her attention for three good seconds before passing it to Ally. "The night everyone regrets everything."

Ally inspected the flyer. "Regrets everything?"

"The formal's hosted by UM obviously," said Kira. "And yes, people attend it. But there's an after party hosted by the students where we just head out to some bar and get wild there instead of the loosely monitored banquet."

"Ah."

"Formal sucks, the party's wild."

Ally nodded her head in understanding. "Why's it the night everyone 'regrets everything?'" She made air quotes around the two words.

"Basically," Trish started. "It's like—"

"Where _all_ of the juicy shit happens and will be talked about for the rest of the semester until like, New Years," Kira finished for her. "It's great. Highly recommend it."

"Ah," Ally nodded her head. "Sounds fun," she said a little warily.

"Totally," all the girls agreed, even Piper, who never uttered a single word unless she had to. Unless her life depended on it.

"All of us are obviously going, aren't we?" Trish spoke to the group, but looked at Ally specifically. Ally nodded her head.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss this for the world!" She said, faking hurt, courtesy of Trish's glare. Trish smiled slowly in response.

Ally really did want to go to this formal. It sounded fun. She was willing to sacrifice a Friday night for some fun. Especially with her new friends.

Kira squealed suddenly. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly, Piper made a noise at the back of her throat that sounded like a dying whale. "Shit," she muttered.

Ally frowned.

"Oh my god," Kira said suddenly. She scrambled to brush grass off her jeans. Ally frowned again. She wasn't getting the memo.

Kira fixed her hair as Piper paced the grass, looking a little frantic. "Shit," she was muttering.

"Guys?"

"Ugh," Trish gagged. "God, why us?"

"I say it's Piper," Kira said, pointing at Piper who went wide-eyed right then.

"No way. I say it's _you_ ," Piper replied, pointing at Kira and making the gesture so overdramatic.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"What? It's obviously _you_. You've already been with. It's a no-brainer," Kira said, gesturing towards Piper.

"And this is why it's _you_. Someone new," Piper said, gesturing back.

Ally blinked.

"Alright, alright. Calm down. He's coming," Trish snapped.

Piper and Kira both frantically stood up and brushed the remaining bits of grass off their jeans. Ally frowned, standing up with them. She still didn't understand what was going on—well, until he was nearly three inches away from her.

Ally felt someone breathing down her neck. She spun around so quickly that she lost her footing on something and nearly fell forward.

Except she didn't.

"Darling, you've got square dancing all wrong," chuckled a smug-looking Austin while she quickly withdrew her hands from his chest. Ally brushed off her jeans self-consciously, finding something to do with her hands.

"What does square dancing have to do with anything?" She muttered under her breath. Ally realized that she had made a mistake.

Inducing into the conversation meant that she couldn't make an easy, clean escape. Go figure.

Austin faked a shocked gasp. His staged backwards-jerk made his dog tags slap against his chest. "You didn't tell her?" He asked the three girls milling around behind Ally. She crossed her hands over her chest, glancing back at her friends. Trish glared back at Austin while Kira gave him a sheepish look. Piper didn't meet his gaze at all.

When Ally turned back around, Austin was grinning down at her. "The Fall Formal's always got square dancin'," he said in a mock country accent. He tipped an invisible cowboy hat at her.

Ally turned around now. "He's not serious right?" She said it so both Austin and her girls could hear her.

"No, no. He's serious alright," Kira was the one who answered her. "There's always a hidden theme during the Formal. And apparently this year's is square dancing."

Fan-fucking-tastic.

Looks like she really did move to Texas.

How about that?

Ally turned back around to face Austin. "So you came all this way to tell me about square dancing?"

"Yes, actually," the blond said. He was wearing a red v-neck sweater despite the heat and dark black jeans. She understood immediately that cold-blooded reptiles needed to keep themselves warm somehow.

Duh.

"I came to ask you if you'd like to come to the formal with me."

If birds had been chirping and people had been talking and screaming and laughing and cars had been zipping by and a meteorite had crashed onto the earth, she wouldn't have heard it.

Behind her, she heard three gasps.

Ally blinked. "Excuse me—what?"

"You. Me. Fall Formal. My bed," he said casually. Austin gave her a wry smile, his eyebrows cocking at her. He placed his hands behind his back, leaning down at her like a sergeant and his unit member. "I know a thing or two about square dancing that could help that stumble of yours."

Ally grimaced. "Ah. How do I say this nicely," she thought about her answer for a moment.

"Oh yeah, got it. No thanks."

Austin frowned at her. She couldn't tell if he was genuinely frowning or not. "Come on," he said, his voice taunting. "We can even cut all the square dancing and head straight to my bed, if that's what you want."

"Oh my god," Ally heard Kira mutter. _Oh my god_ is right.

Ally sighed then. She twisted a lock of her hair around her knuckle. "Look. I think you've mistaken me for someone you wanna tango with—"

"—Do-si-do right into my dorm, yes—"

"—But clearly, you don't understand that I'd rather be anywhere else doing anything else with anybody else."

Silence.

Austin made a _tsk_ ing sound. He stepped closer to her, in which she stepped back. He looked a little menacing right then. "Honey, I'm giving you a chance to have the time of your life and you're turning that down?"

"Not only am I turning you down but I'm also rejecting you for as long as you live," she said without the slightest means of sarcasm. "So take that sleazy ass of yours somewhere else."

Austin gave her another frown, a pout this time. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets before shrugging both shoulders innocently in an _I tried_ manner. His face remained the same; smug, as if he knew more than everyone else on the goddamned planet. "Suit yourself, sweetheart." Ally watched as he pulled out a lighter and a cigarette. He lit it and it dangled between his lips before he exhaled. She wondered why he was still here.

Austin turned around suddenly and winked. Ally was about to make another snide comment when she realized that the wink wasn't meant for her.

Ally turned around and saw Trish rolling her eyes, Kira blushing and Piper looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

Oh.

When Ally turned back around, he was gone. A trail of smoke masked his wake.

The brunette visibly relaxed. "Jesus, he's a pain in the _ass_."

"Don't worry," said Trish, walking over to her and rubbing her arm soothingly. "The new girl's always the center of attention. You're fame will die out soon."

Ally laughed. "Is that supposed to be a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"Depends how you look at it," Trish said.

"However," Kira butted in suddenly. "Austin Moon just asked you to the formal and you _rejected_ him." Kira faked a gasp. "No one ever rejects _Austin Moon._ "

Ally went back to being stripped of all emotion. "He's been bothering me ever since I got here," she announced.

"But every formal Austin asks a different girl to go with him. One can only dream about being that lucky girl," Kira sighed, a faraway look replaced her focused eyes.

"Yuck," said Ally, sticking out her tongue at the thought of spending an entire night, let alone a _formal event_ with Austin Moon. "I don't want to go anywhere near him for as long as I live."

"Good call," Trish exclaimed. She shot her a smile.

The only person who hadn't said anything about Austin this entire time was Piper, yet again. Ally understood that he was her ex and she was his ex and all but Piper being all silent and wide-eyed and staring at her was starting to get a little uncomfortable.

"So," Ally said at last. She glanced around her group of girl friends. She grinned. "How about that formal?"

* * *

The four went shopping for dresses and shoes and knick-knacks and do-dads.

Mostly, the three girls helped Ally try to figure out her style.

Stubborn was what they called her when she rejected nearly everything they had chosen for her. Ally had said no to every dress, shoe, skirt, shirt and purse they had thrown her way.

"I don't know," Ally had said about a tight red leather dress that showed way too much cleavage for her liking.

Or well, her current liking.

"How about this?" Trish said, holding a light blue camisole and a white tennis skirt.

Ally wrinkled her nose. "Not really feeling it."

"This?" Kira twirled into sight with a long maxi dress covered in a floral print.

"I mean, I could pull it off—"

Kira smiled.

"—If I was a little bit taller."

Kira frowned.

Ally gave an innocent shrug of the shoulder to the dark-haired girl. Kira made a disappointed click of her tongue and returned to the aisles of clothing behind her.

Shopping seemed to be harder now that Ally didn't feel like dressing like a frat girl anymore. Although she didn't consider her old style "frat," looking back on it, she did wear some funky clothes that really made her question her thoughts at the time. She cringed just thinking about it.

Everything was toxic back then.

Ally sighed as she sat on a chair in the corner of the store they were shopping in. Trish and Kira were rummaging the aisles, trying to find something to please their new friend. Piper, however, was nowhere in sight.

Ally sighed again. Just as she felt like telling Kira the romper she had in her hand was a waste of time, something inside her purse vibrated.

Ally whipped out her phone.

 _Incoming call from Dallas._

Ignore.

"Hey Ally—"

"I don't do rompers."

And so it went.

"Geez Ally," Trish said after Ally denied more than half the store. "You don't seem to like anything."

An understatement.

"I don't know. I'm not really into what you guys were picking out," she replied. "Maybe I should look myself?"

Kira nodded her head. "And Trish and I can start on our next quest; finding Piper."

So Ally stood up and browsed through the racks of clothing for herself. Honestly, there wasn't much to look at. A shirt or two caught her eye every now and then; but they were looking for dresses for the formal on Friday.

It was only four sets of fifteen minutes later when she found a dress she adored. It's a simple, dark cranberry dress that was made of a soft material and clung to the body. It ends right above the knee by an inch. It was perfect.

By then, Kira and Trish had already found Piper. The three had migrated over to different racks and were checking out belts, sunglasses and earrings.

"Guys," Ally called out. She held up the dress she found. "Look what I found."

Kira gasped out loud. "That looks amazing, Ally!"

"You sure you can square dance in that?" Trish hollered at her as the three walked back over to her. Ally grinned, suddenly remembering an ugly, brown velvet vest her mother gave her as a birthday present that she hadn't burned. It was so Texan and may match the dress perfectly.

"Let's try it on."

And so Ally tried on the dress. She stepped out of the dressing room to show her new friends.

"What do you think?" She asked, twirling a little to show off all sides of the dress. Personally, she didn't find it so appealing now that it was on her body. Her friends seemed to think otherwise.

"Damn!" Kira hooted.

"That," Trish started, "Is called a do-si- _do_."

Even Piper nodded her head in approval.

Her friends have spoken.

She was glad, in a way. She had already mentally planned to match the dress with her brown vest. And they could finally stop shopping, _thank god_. Her feet were beginning to blister even though she was sitting most of the time.

Ally paid for the dress and began to head out of the shop. It was only then did she realize, "Oh my god, I don't have shoes to match the dress."

The three girls groaned.

Ally had either trashed all of her heels or left them back in New York. She did want a clean history when she came to Miami. If she didn't burn all of her old shoes, surely she donated them to charity or some shit like that.

Or maybe they were still in the back of her small closet in her tiny, shared apartment in the Big Apple.

"Ally," Kira said, rubbing her forehead. "We spent like, three hours in that one store alone. And now you're telling me you didn't even look for _shoes_ while you were at it?"

Ally grimaced. "Well, geez. Sorry. I just—"

"You know she's kidding, right?" Trish elbowed Kira good-naturedly. Ally grinned. "Kira here takes about six hours to finish shopping in total."

"I do not!" Kira said, childishly. "I just... like to take my time while I shop."

"And go through all the racks of clothing like four times," mumbled Piper. The first sentence Ally had heard her say all day.

Trish snickered.

"It's alright, Ally. We can go shopping for shoes tomorrow or some other time. We still have all week to shop," Kira pointed out. "Surely we'll find something to match that amazing dress you just bought."

"Yeah."

* * *

Friday couldn't come soon enough.

A week of torture was what Ally had to endure.

Monday was the day she found her perfect dress. Wednesday was the day she found shoes to match her dress. And when she had a small Marine Bio quiz. Thursday—which was today—was when she nearly fell asleep in Political Science, but surprised herself by staying awake the entire time after sneaking a few bites of an energy bar.

After her class, Ally decided she wanted to spend some time by herself. She needed time for herself after turning her life upside for two weeks. It was finally falling back into place and Ally needed to decide who she wanted to be and how she was going to get there.

A tough decision.

It was like she was learning how to walk all over again.

It had to be done, though.

Ally wanted to be a good person, she really did. It would make up for all of the sins she's committed in the last two years. Some were more vulgar than others, but hey, sins were sins. They were all equally weighed when getting into hell right?

If you're a sinner, you go to hell. It was simple.

She wasn't religious like that, but she did believe that committing crimes and being a bad person in general was what got you a ticket to meet Satan. She wanted to turn her life around. Hop off the train to hell and hop on the train to heaven.

However, there was a little controversy on her part. She brought a goddamn trash bag with the words _"OFF LIMITS"_ on it. If only she had left it back in New York she could have—

 _Incoming call from Dallas._

Her phone ringing snapped her out of her soul check.

Ally decided to ignore this one rather than reject the call. She felt like rejecting the call meant that she was giving the impression that she actually gave a damn. However, she still wondered why she hadn't blocked his number yet.

Luckily, right after the ringing finished, another call made Ally's phone buzz.

 _Incoming call from Trish._

Ah.

"Hello?" Ally spoke into the receiver.

"You ready for your first formal, girl?" Trish asked, spunk in her tone. Ally chuckled, putting the phone between her shoulder and ear.

"Hell yeah!" She whooped. "I'm getting worked up just thinking about it." Ally switched the position of her phone from her right shoulder to her left. Multitasking was what she was doing. She was trying to take notes on sharks at the same time for her Marine Bio research project.

"The formal will be boring," informed Trish. "But I assure you, the party afterwards will leave you in a hangover for days."

"I count on it," Ally replied. "But from what I hear square dancing can't be all that boring, can it?"

"I have no idea."

The line was silent for a bit and Ally was afraid Trish might have fallen asleep on her. But then Ally heard Trish's muffled voice speaking to her roommate about closing the windows.

"Oh my god," Trish came back on the line. "I still can't believe you rejected Austin's offer to take you to the formal. That's all Kira could talk about when she called me earlier."

Ally let out a mournful groan. "Honestly, he should've asked Kira or someone else who actually seemed the slightest bit interested in spending an entire night of hell with him."

Trish laughed. "Well it's just going to be us four tomorrow. No need to worry about pesky boys. Oh and Dez. But he doesn't count as a boy. He's more of a weird, hybrid carrot."

She snorted. Ally was so glad she had a friend like Trish. She could've used a Trish back in New York. "Exactly! I can't wait."

"We'll be square dancing the night away!" Trish said enthusiastically.

"Just one problem," Ally muttered. "I don't know how to square dance."

Trish laughed again. "I don't either. But I'm sure we'll all have a good time."

Ally nodded her head even though Trish couldn't see her. "I count on it."

* * *

 **And while this chapter took 4 months I finished the next chapter in 3 days with 2k+ more words. With this said, get ready for the next chapter. Of course Ally already rejected Austin, but he always finds a way to worm himself back into her life, doesn't he? ;)**

 **If you wanted to know** **—which you probably don't—the longest I took on this chapter was where the girls went shopping. THE SMALL LITTLE SECTION OF THEM GOING SHOPPING TOOK ME SO LONG.**

 **ALSO, to address the guest last time who wanted this chapter to be in Austin's point of view. I've planned for this story to be entirely in Ally's POV for reasons (to make it interesting, mostly), so if you wanted an Austin POV story, you're not gonna find it here!**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	4. irresistible

**heyyoo**

 **It's me. I'm back! It's time for the story's pace to get picked up, don't you think?**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything.**

* * *

 _you're second hand smoke, second hand smoke_  
 _i breathe you in, but honey, i don't know what you're doing to me_

* * *

The Fall Formal was held in the east auditorium.

It started at 7:30pm, a reasonable time, Ally supposed. She wondered about people who had night courses, but quickly banished the thought because she didn't really care.

That much.

Ally was extremely pleased with herself. Finally she would be able to show off the dress she got with her vest and cute heeled-boots she found. Ally had looked in the mirror and twirled so many times she was beginning to get dizzy.

Ally's four friends, Trish, Kira, Piper and Dez all decided they were going to the formal together as a group. It was better that way. They decided Dez to be the designated driver if, under any circumstance, the other girls couldn't drive. And it was also Dez's car too.

It made sense, yes.

Ally gave herself another once over in the mirror before smiling. She was only here to impress herself and yes, she's done it.

Ally grabbed her brown vest and placed it over her shoulders. She loved how _Western_ it looked on her. Ally grabbed her phone and keys and put them in her pocket, jumping once to hear the jingle of the keys against her side.

Cool.

Finally, Ally was ready to go hoedown.

She took her phone out of her pocket and dialled up Trish's number.

"Ally?"

"You ready?"

"You know I am!"

"Where are we meeting?" Ally asked, shuffling out of her dorm. She took the keys out of her vest pocket.

"Um... the east auditorium?" replied Trish, a little confused.

Ally blinked. "No duh. I meant _after_. When we stop hoeing down and just hoe."

"Ally!"

Ally laughed. She twisted her doorknob just to make sure her dorm was closed. "You gotta admit, that was a good one."

"If we stay together, Dez'll just lead us to his car after it's all done. If not, Dez's car is a red Audi parked under the two palm trees at the end of the lot," Trish told her.

"Alright. I'm heading out now. See you there."

"See you." With that, Ally shoved her phone and keys back into her side pocket and began the trek from her dormitory to the auditorium.

The evening air was humid on her bare arms. It was near the end of October, a week before Halloween. The air was slightly cooler than before even though the sun was just setting and the rays were giving her warmth. Ally pulled her vest closer around her body, her boots clicking dully against the walkway.

As the auditorium entrance came in view, Ally caught sight of a bunch of people milling around in a large group. She frowned and advanced towards the clique.

"What's going on?" She heard someone ask as the group shoved around.

"She's really doing it!" Someone hollered. Ally frowned, even with her reasonable heels she couldn't see over the shoulders. Ally mumbled _sorry_ s and _excuse me_ s as she got propelled around, getting shoved from chest to back. She grumbled.

"Yeah!" Another person hooted, the rest of the crowd joining in. Ally shook her head and elbowed the person beside her. She glanced over a girl with frizzy red hair.

Surrounded by a group was a girl with raven-black hair and the palest skin Ally had ever seen. A cigarette dangled from her lips, a leaf on fire in her hand.

"What is she doing?" Someone hissed. Ally was thinking the same exact thing, although she's seen worse.

"She's lighting a cigarette, asshole," another person fired back.

Ally watched as the girl brought the nearly burnt-out leaf to the edge of her cigarette with her eyes closed and lit it up. Her fingers were covered in tattoos and shiny rings that gleamed from the auditorium lights. She closed her eyes and let out a puff of smoke

Ally didn't stay to watch the crowd congratulate the girl. Being a New Yorker for most of her life, she's seen it all. People lighting their cigarettes with literally everything.

It was overused over there.

It must be "cool" here.

 _They all want death so badly._

Ally quickly made her way inside the auditorium before she could inhale any second-hand smoke. Her eyes needed to adjust to the bright lights in contrast to the natural, dim lights from outside.

When her eyes could finally take in the light, Ally stared in awe. Tables were set up nicely with plates and cups. A few short, but filled buffet tables were covered with plates of food provided by the catering company. Ally spied fish, roast chicken and pork on some huge plates and salads, mashed potatoes, soup and other random appetizers lying around. She breathed in the delicious gourmet smells.

Ally let her eyes roam over to the other side of the auditorium. A space was set up by the stage for dancing. Ally could see some people working on their shuffles and do-si-dos while the entertainers were tuning their instruments.

Luckily, as she was beginning to feel awkward by just standing at the entrance, Ally spotted Dez sitting at a table near the dance floor, Trish and Piper sitting next to him. She made her way over there, pushing past tables and chairs.

"Hey," she said as she made her way behind Piper's chair.

"Ally!" Dez greeted. He stood up and gave her a hug even though they saw each other nearly every other day in Marine Bio. "Good to see you."

Ally laughed. "You too, Dez."

"Glad you finally showed up," Trish huffed. "We've been here for at least half an hour." Trish shook her head pointedly.

"I got held up at the front of the auditorium," Ally explained, recalling the mosh pit surrounding the girl. "But it's all good." She waved a hand and pulled out one of the chairs for herself.

"Ignore Trish, you didn't miss much," Dez said, reassuring her. He crossed his legs. "The band just got here and the food is still hot."

Ally chuckled. Trish was shaking her head at Dez.

"Doof."

"Excuse me, it's _Dez._ "

Piper cracked a small smile.

Ally grinned. She glanced around the table. Dez had a half-eaten chicken wing on his plate, sauce poured all over his plate like it was soup. Trish's plate was empty, remains of mashed potatoes and a salad hinted at what she had already eaten. Piper only had a glass of orange fruit punch, though her plate had an untouched buttered-bun.

"Where's Kira?" Ally asked, she glanced around the table, trying to locate Kira's plate or any indication she even arrived yet.

"I don't know," Trish replied. "I texted her and she said she was on her way but that was like..." The curly-haired Latina took out her phone. "Twenty minutes ago."

"Maybe she's just late?"

"I saw her heading out when I left," Piper spoke up. The two girls lived in the same building. "I thought she was heading right to the formal so I went out with her, but she disappeared into the parking lot and I haven't seen her since." Piper took a sip of her fruit punch.

Dez shrugged. "Now we all know Kira wouldn't miss a party so let's just wait and see if she shows up."

So that's what they did.

The entertainment had finally finished tuning their instruments and were beginning by warming up with a few jazzy tunes. Ally stood up. "I'm going to grab a bite."

"Yeah, grab a bite," Trish said. "The food at the bar is crappy, apparently."

"Thanks for the heads up," Ally said as she walked away with her plate. Ally shuffled around some tables and chairs, making her way to the buffet. She was already deciding what she wanted to eat miles away. Her stomach growled.

Food.

As Ally approached the table filled with goods, her eyes caught sight of a certain girl, her back turned. "Kira!"

Kira whipped around, her hair flying into her face. "Ally, hey." She sounded out of breath.

She walked over to the buffet. "You're late," Ally mused. "And Dez told me you're never late to the party."

"I ran into this huge crowd outside of the auditorium," Kira explained. "They were blocking the entrance and I was just getting shoved around—"

"Oh hey, me too." Ally grabbed the tongs and shuffled some greens onto her plate. The salad was tempting, but so was the chicken. Ally grabbed two wings as well. "It was like a mosh pit out there."

"Right?" Kira agreed. She grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with orange fruit punch.

"They were like, surrounding this girl with tattoos and everything," Ally explained, just in case Kira didn't see for herself.

"Yeah, her name's Brittany," Kira said, rolling her eyes. "I don't like her but everyone thinks she's the shit and everything just because she does all these crazy stunts. I swear she's going to die young."

"Yikes," Ally muttered. The two girls slowly made their way back to the table. Ally slid a tomato into her mouth from her plate as they walked. She couldn't wait to dig in.

"Guys, I found a wild Kira," Ally announced as the two girls appeared at the table. "Literally."

Kira was wearing a big tiger-striped coat that ended past her knees. A teal dress and frilly cowboy boots with a studded design completed the look. Ally couldn't take her eyes off Kira's coat. It was utterly ridiculous.

"You know it's cowboy themed and not _tigerboy_ themed, right?" Trish asked, eyeing the coat. Dez snickered, taking a sip of water.

"It's warm," Kira protested. "And it makes me stand out. Can't a girl stand out every once and a while? Especially in a stellar group like this," Kira said, batting her eyelashes at each member of the table. Dez coughed, placing his glass of water on the table. Piper whacked him on the back.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, honey," Trish shook her head. Yet there was a smile on her face as she watched Dez struggle. Piper was slapping him against the back. "Sit down."

A certain kind of warmth spread across Ally's chest as she looked around the table. These people were her friends. They invited her into their group and took her in. It was a nice feeling knowing that they genuinely wanted her there and that they weren't making her feel uncomfortable or anything.

It felt good.

Kira took a seat next to Ally who had taken the seat next to Piper. Piper's seat was next to Dez who was still trying not to cough up his water all over Trish who sat next to him.

Kira shrugged her coat off and grabbed her plate. "I'll be back."

"If you get lost just look for the striped tiger coat," Ally called after her.

"Very funny."

And so the night went.

The band began their number with a jazzy tune, just to warm the crowd up. It was more their specialty. Ally was looking forward to the country music that was going to be integrated into the formal soon. She was dying to hoedown.

Ally chomped down on one of the chicken wings she got. _Bless the catering._ It was like she just bit into roast heaven. Ally made a sound at the back of her throat to express how goddamn _good_ it was.

Ally took another bite and made the same noise, if not louder. Trish gave her a look. "You okay, Ally?"

"Never better," she replied, closing her eyes to savour the taste. "Oh my god, why is this roast chicken so good?"

"You know what else is good? Me."

Ally froze. She dropped the half-finished chicken wing back on her plate and slowly swivelled around. Inches away from her ear was Austin Moon, grinning like a maniac.

Ally wiped her mouth with a napkin and prepared for a retort but Dez beat her to it.

"Stand down, Moon." Dez stood up next to Austin. Austin gave Dez a side-glance, still leaning down to Ally's ear.

"Hey, I come in peace," Austin said, rising from his leaning position over Ally's chair, raising his hands in surrender. "Just came to ask the lady if she wanted to be my partner for the square dance later." He looked Ally right in the eye, under the shade of a dark cowboy hat.

Dez put his hand on Ally's chair.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ally replied, wrinkling her nose. She checked his attire. Black button up, jeans and boots. Simple, like Dez.

"Aw, scared of seesawing that taw?"

Ally blinked. "Excuse me?"

Austin chuckled. "You're cute confused."

"I'll have you know Ally is always cute," Trish butt in. "And she's never confused about anything."

Austin shrugged. "Well, if you wanna bend the line with me, I'll be around." He tipped his cowboy hat at the group, winking specifically at Ally and then disappeared into the crowd that was forming.

A pregnant silence followed.

Then, "Oh my god." Kira appeared at the table suddenly. "He just _winked_ at you, Ally."

"Which meant I had one less cocky eye to look at," she rolled her eyes. She turned to Dez who took his seat. "Thanks for that, by the way. You didn't have to though."

Dez shrugged. "You were having a good time with that chicken wing. Didn't look like you wanted to be disturbed."

"You know he leaves like, no one alone right?" Ally stabbed her fork into the salad on her plate.

"Well, yeah. I mean he wasn't always like this," Dez said, kicking his chair back and crossing his legs. "I knew him from high school."

"I'm sorry," Ally said sincerely and sarcastically, giving Dez a sympathetic look.

"What changed?" It was Piper who asked the question hanging over their heads. Ally chomped down on her caesar salad. Trish had lost interest in the conversation and was checking her phone for messages. Kira had gone back to grab more punch.

"Well, soon after—"

"Alright, folks!" Rang a voice out of the blue. The music stopped. Everyone turned their heads towards the stage. Mr. Conley stood with a bunch of cue cards in his hands. He wore such ugly studded boots Ally had to look away. "It's time for square dancing! Clear the dance floor!"

People shuffled around as they cleared the dance zone. Ally watched as people ran around, trying to locate a partner to dance with.

"Trish?" Ally turned to the Latina. Trish looked up. "Will you be my dance partner?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Trish grinned. "You wanna be the girl or the boy?" Since square dancing had male and female roles. Ally thought it was kind of sexist but that's how square dancing had always been.

"I'll be the girl," Ally laughed. "But we can switch later." The two girls walked to the edge of the dance floor, Dez and Piper trailed behind them. Kira had found a dance partner in Trent, one of the football players always outside.

People took their positions on the dance floor. Ally had no idea how to square dance or do-si-do or any of that. She was suddenly nervous. _Oh my god, I'm gonna fail square dancing._

"Psst," Ally hissed at Trish. "How do you square dance?"

Trish blinked. "I don't know. I was planning on following everyone else."

"Oh great."

Mr. Conley started as the music began to play. "Alright folks! Join your hands and circle to the left."

That sounded simple. Their entire group, Dez and Piper, Kira and Trent, Trish and Ally all joined their hands to form a circle and began to shuffle to the left. Partway through their second round Kira went, "Does anyone know how to square dance?"

"I can tap dance," said Dez.

"Now swing your partner, high and low."

"What's a swing?" Ally heard Trent say. She had no clue, either so she looked around. Apparently it was the ballroom dance position and you walk in circles.

Ally laughed as Dez yelped when Piper stepped on his foot.

"Now promenade with a heel and toe."

Ally glanced around. It was like playing Simon Says, trying to copy what the leader was doing. Except in this case, everyone but she knew what was going on.

The promenade was where you clasp your hands a certain way and walk in circles yet again. Trish and Ally fumbled with their hands a bit before falling into the circular walk that their group was on.

"Now ladies take a step in the circle then back out to the bar. Gents go in with a right hand star."

Into the middle? Easy. Ally stepped into the middle with Kira and Piper and back out. Trish, Dez and Trent did whatever a "right hand star" was.

"This is hard," Trish complained. "Every other group has four pairs. We only have three."

"Now take your partner by your side. Gents swing out and the ladies in."

Ally wished she had been paying attention to whatever the star thing was because now they had to do it.

"Now join hands and circle to the left. Let's see a do-si-do."

"Oh my god, everyone talks about a do-si-do, but what is it?" Kira asked as the group struggled to copy everyone else.

"Break it apart and swing."

And so the formal went.

* * *

"My god, my feet are killing me." Piper muttered. She took off her cowgirl wedges. "There are blisters on my blisters."

"That's gross," Kira said, wrinkling her nose. She clicked on her seatbelt from the shotgun seat. Kira and her coat couldn't fit in the backseat of Dez's Audi with two other people so Piper had to give up her shotgun seat for the coat.

Ally sat between Piper and her blistering feet and Trish. All four girls were buckled up in Dez's car and ready to head out to the after party. Dez had to go back inside the auditorium because he forgot his phone on the table.

"Put your shoes back on, Piper," Trish said. "I don't wanna look at your feet fungus."

"For your information, I don't have athlete's foot," Piper retorted. "And my feet need to be aired out after that intense California twirl and allemande thar back to back."

"All you did was step on Dez's feet," Ally laughed.

"It's not my fault my 'gent' was going the wrong way most of the time," Piper rolled her eyes yet smiled.

"You talking about me?" Dez asked as he ducked into the car. He put the key in and set the car into ignition. "About my great potential as a square dancer?"

"About my doubts of getting into your car when you circled right instead of left," Piper fired back. The three other girls broke into laughter. Piper seemed in a good mood tonight, which was a nice change for once. It really showed who Ally decided to surround herself with for the next while.

"Ouch," Trish laughed. "Need some ice for that burn?"

The car roared with laughter the entire eighteen minute drive to the bar.

Dez parked a few blocks away from the bar. The five friends made their way down two blocks before rounding the corner of a street. A line was already beginning to form for entry to the bar. Ally hummed as the humid air washed over her arms.

"You cold?" Kira asked.

Ally shook her head. "Nah. I know cold, and this surely isn't it."

Ally and her friends stood in line, night slowly descending on the city. Lights illuminated the night life; which was extremely busy. People bustled about, even only beginning their evening at 9:30pm. Miami was engaged at night. Well, maybe because it was Friday and the start of a much-needed weekend.

Ally recalled New York's night life. Sure it was busy, but it wasn't as friendly as Miami. Here strangers would strike up a conversation in an awkward situation. Ally glanced over at Dez who was talking with a guy with green hair and a potbelly standing in front of them in the line.

In NYC the night life was a little different. For one thing, it was _cold_. Physically and mentally. It dropped like, eight degrees at night. And the people would give you glacial stares, glaring at you like you were the raccoon in their trashcan making a ruckus. Also, it was quite scary if you didn't know your way around the subway and the streets at night. Frankly, it was utterly dangerous, too.

Comparing the two now, Ally wasn't sure which she would have preferred. She liked Miami, she really did. The sunshine and the warmth, the green grass, the palm trees, feeling like she was on the West Coast when she was still on the East.

However, New York was where she grew up. She liked sneaking around at night, walking down streets where people wouldn't even stop twice to ask why a sixteen year-old girl had a cigarette in her mouth and was walking towards the subway for downtown. She liked guessing the stories of people; why this man with the dragon tattoo was sitting on a park bench by himself, why this lady with a poodle wasn't picking up her dog's shit, why that boy was swaying on the swing by himself.

The group moved up in the line.

"And then I was like, ' _No! The lady needs to be wearing red shoes because it matched her purse!_ '" Dez said to the guy with green hair. The man just nodded, not really listening but it looked like he didn't want to tell Dez otherwise.

"What are you even talking about, doof?" Trish asked, looking up from her phone. She had to look up to glance at Dez because even in her cute cowboy heels, she was still shorter than the redhead.

Dez glared sarcastically at Trish. "Creative Writing."

"You're taking Creative Writing?" Ally barged into the conversation. She had debated whether to take Creative Writing or English Lit at the beginning of sophomore year. She had taken English Lit last year as a freshman, taking the course that was based more on the literature of the 18th century. With Creative Writing Ally could have furthered her skills in writing but the class at UM was already filled when she applied this term.

"Yeah," Dez replied. "It helps with writing scripts for Film," he explained, turning towards Ally now. "A lot of work, though."

Ally nodded her head. "I was meaning to get into Creative Writing when I transferred but the class was full."

"I'm considering dropping out next term," Dez said. "Haven't decided yet, but I'll let you know."

Ally opened her mouth to thank him but Kira beat her to speaking. "Stop yapping about school guys— it's making my ears hurt even more than that country music."

Trish rolled her eyes.

The line shifted forward. Ally suddenly wanted to propel her way into the bar. Standing outside was getting tediously boring. A wake up call was what she needed.

Finally, after a determined twenty minutes standing in line and letting thoughts run aimlessly, the group was admitted into the bar.

Lights burned into Ally's eyes and followed her as their group made their way to the counter. Dez sat on one of the stools just as Trish was about to sit down. They glared at each other before Trish rolled her eyes and stalked away, sitting next to Piper instead. Dez won the chair.

Ally sat next to Dez. She inhaled the smell of the bar. Sweat, life, liquor and everything in between. There was a lot going on at this place. She shivered at the thought of a wild night.

"Alright guys," Kira said. "Who's it gonna be this time?"

"I say Dez."

"Trish."

Trish and Dez spoke each other's names at the same time. They glared at each other again. The constant friendly banter between them was always comically relieving in Ally's opinion.

Piper tapped her hand on the table. "I say Ally since she's new here. And we gotta initiate her somehow. Trish can't just bring stray dogs into our extremely exclusive group," she teased.

Ally blinked. "Wait, what are we doing—"

"Yeah, sounds good," Kira agreed. "Also, I forgot my wallet."

"Fine. As much as I loved driving I don't think my wallet can handle this and gas money."

Ally glanced around. "Someone tell me what we're doing."

Trish clapped her on the shoulder. She was sitting next to Ally on her right. "You, my dear friend, are buying us drinks."

"Me?" Ally blinked.

"It's a tradition among us," Kira explained. Piper nodded her head to confirm this.

"I don't have my wallet," Ally whined. Patting her vest pockets to indicate her phone and keys. "Should've told me this before."

"We decide at the bar," Dez said.

Ally grumbled, playing along. She was actually glad she could buy her new friends drinks. She could contribute to the foundation of her new friends. "Ugh. You guys are lucky I keep emergency cash in my phone case."

Piper stuck her tongue out as Ally peeled her simple blue phone case off her mobile. "Ugh. Rich city girls," she said teasingly, sarcastically.

"It's emergency cash, of course it's gonna be a fifty."

Piper shrugged, still grinning.

"What do you guys want?" Ally asked, waving the bartender over. An attractive looking male in a white button up. She looked away quickly but not before admiring those arms through the shirt.

"Surprise us," Trish dared.

Ally ordered drinks specifically on what she thought each friend was like. Ally got Dez a simple vodka. He's always outgoing and bubbling over, she decided what he needed was a good glass of relaxation and a good warm feeling in his stomach.

Ally got Trish a spiced rum, sweet with some extra flaring flavour for her blaring personality. "I advise you to mix that with some club soda," she was saying. "It's better that way, trust me."

For Kira, a bourbon whiskey. Sugary and smooth. Lighter than other whiskeys. Also, she felt it fit Kira. Sugary and smooth, a mood lightener, a good friend all around.

Ally had a hard time deciding what she wanted to give to Piper. Sure the girl was a lot happier today, but that wasn't her mood 24/7. She was usually down and silent most of the time, barely uttering a single word in three days unless she really had to. Ally decided to get Kira a semi-expensive tequila, premixing some Mountain Dew soda in. One of her favourite drinks, actually.

Ally got herself a cheap shot of whiskey. Something small to quench her thirst. She didn't feel like drinking, despite wanting to get into the bar as soon as possible.

This was picked up by her friends.

"You got a whiskey shot?" Kira asked, narrowing her eyes at Ally. "And here I thought you carried around a damn drink book."

"Eh," Ally shrugged. "I don't drink."

 _Much._

 _Anymore._

"You can't be serious," Trish said. "How did you get _rum_ to taste like _this_ without trying this thing yourself?"

Ally just shook her head. "A magician never reveals her secrets."

"Come on," Piper drawled on. "Get something for yourself. It's Friday— it's the weekend. You gotta have a little fun, right?"

"It's also _the_ Formal night," Dez reminded her, clinking his class against her small shot glass. He had barely taken a sip, reminding Ally that he was the designated driver for the night.

"The night everyone regrets everything," Ally remembered. "Right. I think I'll pass." Personally, Ally would have loved to have a small drink. But she wasn't going to let herself. She had a past with liquor. A twisted, dark past, if one will.

"Drink up," Kira said, shaking her whiskey glass.

Ally shook her head.

"Come on," Piper rolled her eyes. "Is this because we made you buy the drinks?"

"No, of course not."

"What's stopping you, Ally?" Trish asked. "Come on. One drink."

Ally bit her lip. _They won't understand._

The truth was, liquor and Ally Dawson should not have ever met. It opened her up, words flying out of her mouth without her knowing of it. It destroyed whatever secrets she kept. It _ruined_ her at one point. Destroyed her until she was a shattered bottle of Jack Daniels lying feebly on the ground.

It was surely the stronger of the two evils; her being one, it being the other.

She couldn't drink again. Not after... _the_ night. She loved having a little fun with liquor, sure. But in a situation like this, she'd rather pass than _pass out._

Ally stalled for another twenty seconds before shaking her head. "Fine," she grumbled through her teeth. "But only because I _kinda_ like you guys... I guess." She made a show of shrugging at them disdainfully. One drink won't hurt.

Dez gave her a sarcastic, pointed look.

Ally called the bartender back over. She just had a shot of whiskey and really didn't know what she wanted to drink _because she wasn't planning to drink in the first place._ "I'll have a Blue Moon Martini, please." She liked martinis.

She only wanted one drink.

Only one.

But then her friends were so impressed by her choices of drinks. They made her order them something else. And of course, they made her order something for herself. And by that point, Ally was beginning to feel tipsy. Her liver was rusty. She used to be able to take a little more. Her old self would be disappointed.

Only one goddamn drink.

Half the night was gone by the time Ally took another shot of rum with Trish. Her fourth shot of the night, that is.

Or so she thought.

Or... actually she couldn't remember anymore.

Ally giggled tipsily when Dez said something about going to dance. Her friends hauled themselves over there while Ally said something about wanting to rest her feet even thought they had probably been sitting for an hour.

The world was suddenly plunged underwater, everything a little blurry, fuzzy. White noise complemented the thundering club music and yelling. She was suddenly seeing double. _I swore I put my contact lenses on._

Ally really needed to use the bathroom. Five different drinks were sitting in her stomach, clashing and burning. They made her brain feel fuzzy, her thoughts occupying her brain for a second and then flying out an ear. She blinked rapidly in shock of the sudden bright lights of the bathroom. She swayed on her feet as she stood up.

After what needed to be done in the restroom, Ally slowly tottered back to the bar. She was confused for a second. _Where was it again?_

She shrugged.

Ally looked at her feet suddenly, wondering why she was wearing cowgirl boots. It almost gave her vertigo. Ally blinked slowly. "Woah." Her tongue felt too big for her mouth. She felt like a dog, letting her tongue hang out of her mouth for a second to comply to the thought.

Ally patted her pockets. She could use a cigarette right about now. Where was her usual pack of Lucky Strikes? And more importantly, where was her favourite green lighter—and her lucky one, at that.

What the fuck?

Ally assumed this was like most clubs; no smoking indoors. She located the exit and teetered over, stumbling into some people pressed together. A classmate she recognized from Political Science glared at her as he was interrupted while making out with his girlfriend. "Carry on, good mate!" She said, mocking an Australian accent and clapping the guy on the shoulder before walking away without looking back.

She giggled. _I'm so fucking funny._

The bouncer gave her a nod as she left the building. "Kind sir," she started. "Would you kindly direct me to the pit of smokers?" She was a lot wordier now that her brain was muddled a little. However, her brain was always muddled.

Wasn't it?

Either way, filtered-Ally was long gone.

The bouncer gave her a small smile. "Take a left at the corner, young lady."

"Are you implying that my youth is inferior to you old people? What are you? 45?" Ally laughed. It sounded echo-y despite the loud, blaring background music from the club.

"41, actually," the bouncer said, shocked at her spunk. He nodded at her, chuckling. "Have a good one."

"You too."

Ally stumbled as she turned around suddenly. Nicotine, deadly poison that she needed as soon as fucking possible. How could she possibly forget her toxicant?

As Ally walked turned the corner, she spotted the pit. Exactly what the bouncer had told her. She should thank him later. Maybe she should have gotten has name, too.

Sadly, she had no cigarettes on her. She grumbled, walking up to a brown-haired boy with a small comb over. He looked friendly enough from his easy stance. Ally thought she might have seen him around campus even. She was still seeing soft, fuzzy edges, however. "Hey, can I get cig?"

The boy turned around, puffing a cloud of smoke in her face. He gave her a small once over before shrugging, acceptingly. "Sorry little lady, I just burnt out the last one," he said, tapping his finger on the one hanging from his lips.

Ally winced, looking around for someone else to ask. "Ah, no problem. I can always—"

"Actually," the boy drawled on. Ally turned back to look at him. He presented her with a single cigarette, untouched otherwise. "Never mind."

She grinned. "Thanks, mate."

Why she said 'mate' when under the influence was never figured out even when she felt sober.

Ally sighed then, remembering she didn't have her lucky green lighter. She wondered where she left it last. Her brain was muddled. She was... on a street... somewhere? She couldn't hear the subway. This didn't look like downtown NYC...

Wait, no. She was in Miami.

Right.

"I'm Jace, by the way," the boy said. He finally had a name.

"Ally," she said.

Jace smiled, the cigarette between his index fingers. "Well, Ally. I think you should thank the person who actually have you that." He flicked the cigarette in her hand.

Ally cocked an eyebrow, leaning against the wall now to keep her balance. The alcohol was catching up to her now. She felt the world shift underneath her feet.

"Hello, princess," drawled a familiar voice. Austin sidled up to her, a cigarette dangled from his lips. "I didn't know you were out to destroy one of the most vital organs of the human body. Could've just asked me if you wanted your breath taken away."

"Hello," she replied, feeling the slur, mirroring that sophistication he always seemed to radiate despite being a pain. "How do you do?"

"Fine, fine. As always," he assured her. "I didn't know you smoked," he tried again.

Ally ignored him. She didn't know she smoked either. "Aren't you going to ask how I'm doing? It's the polite thing to do."

Austin seemed to sense she was a little— _a lot_ tle—tipsy. Her sudden backfire seemed to surprise him. He blinked at her. And then regained his cool. He leaned against the wall beside her. "How are you tonight, sweetheart?"

"Fine. Amazing, even," Ally started. She had an entire speech planned out. "I had a ball. Square dancing was funner than I expected. Also, the food was spectacu-lac-cular." If she were a sober English major she would've kicked herself over. _Funner isn't even a word._

 _Is it?_

"Sounds like you've had a great night," he said chuckling. _What's so funny?_ Austin still had his cowboy hat on, shading his eyes, making them even darker in spite of the city lights, illuminating the blond hair sticking out of his hat.

Despite everything, she found him suddenly very _attractive_ , as he should be. Tall, lithe, big with nice arms with a shirt unbuttoned a little to complement his smooth chest, a dog tag snaked around his neck. His eyes roamed her face under the brim of his dark cowboy hat. _He looked so ..._ To add, he was _smirking_ at her, a boyish, devilish grin that was screaming _trouble_ at the top of its lungs. And maybe _fuck_ , too.

She was drunk. But not drunk enough to understand that she found herself in a dangerous situation.

Luckily, all he said was. "You need a lighter?" He took a puff of his own cigarette, the thing still dangling from his lips. He offered her a lighter. It's colour was red.

Ally shook her head, rejecting yet another one of his offers. "I got this." And suddenly she was 17 again. A wild youth, reckless and spontaneous. Young, naive and making rash decisions in the moment.

He wasn't leaning on the wall anymore, only standing still. His hands had retreated to his pockets to put the lighter away. She took a step closer to him, propelling herself off the wall. This made Austin look up, his wild, questioning eyes going wide on her. He raised an eyebrow, an expression Ally found stomach-twisting at.

Ally placed the cigarette between her lips. She glanced up at him, his mouth specifically, before standing on her tiptoes and grabbing his shoulders to keep her tipsy balance, touching the end of her cigarette to the butt of his. She did this boldly, staring straight into his eyes, only breaking away when she felt the heat transfer onto her own cigar. She let out a puff of smoke. Austin stared, his eyes darkening further. The ghost of his hands on her waist left her a little unsteady.

"Thanks."

* * *

 **OmG**

 **You don't understand how much research I had to do for this chapter. I had a quizlet opened on vocab words for square dancing and I even watched like 8 videos of square dancing. I researched on drinks too omg. Don't take my word on anything written in this chapter. I did research but that doesn't mean it's good research! My search history was so messy for 2 days lmaoo.**

 **Also, I say the story is unfolding nicely now that I've introduced a little extra element into play. ;)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	5. where did the party go

**I'm baCk, baby. With another chapter of untitled, too!**

 **Before I go on any further, just to put this out there now; the story goes down a darker road from here on out. And no, I don't mean murder and death and stuff but I think yall know what I mean. Just the feel of the story will be a little _thicker._**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything**

* * *

 _woah, where did the party go?_

* * *

It was sad, not remembering what happened next.

All she could remember from the night of the formal was that she had a drink blue enough to turn her pee green.

And who said that didn't happen?

Ally groaned as sunlight streamed through the windows on the Saturday morning after. She took a deep breath. Bless. She had no hangover headache. Maybe she did this so much back then she was immune to them. Invincible to hangovers. She used to joke she was the best.

Ally rolled over in her twin sized bed, getting crushed by the sudden, dizzying impact of head pain. _There it was._ It nearly knocked the wind out of her. Ally coughed, spluttering.

Lost her sense of orientation suddenly. Exactly where was she?

Ally groaned.

She felt so dehydrated and dizzy. Ally couldn't even open her eyes. She groaned once again. Nefarious sunlight was never welcomed after a night out, especially one she couldn't recall all too well. Many things were too fuzzy to remember, much things she wasn't sure she wanted to. Ally weakly placed a hand on her forehead.

 _Damn, I only wanted one drink._

She went into that, thinking she could fight the temptation of alcohol, but of course she was wrong. Once an addict, always a drinker with a sadly weaker liver than it used to be.

Ally at least knew that she didn't have any priorities today. She could roll around in bed, trying to get her hangover to disappear. She sighed, knowing she needed to get up if she wanted to feel any better about herself.

Ally slowly removed the comforter from her body, sliding her legs off the bed from under it. The momentum of standing up gave her a hot flash of dizziness but quickly passed. Her head remained in a state of a dull yet pounding ache behind her eyes.

The brunette took one step before tripping over something and falling flat on her face on the carpet in the room. Her legs crumpled. Ally groaned, her world shifting, swaying beneath her, swimming vision. Black spots danced in her vision. Her chin rendered sore after that horrid fall.

She sat up, trying her best to ignore the lightheadedness of the shift. She glanced behind her, pinpointing the source of the fall.

Staring back at her was a bag.

 _OFF LIMITS._

It was open.

Ally rubbed her eye. _Aw shit. I didn't._

She glanced around. Then, scooted over and glanced into the bag. She knew by heart, drunk or sober, asleep or awake, dead or alive, what was in that bag. _Aw shit. I did._

She took stock, wondering what—in her awfully drunken-beyond-her-control-for-the-first-time-in-two-months state—did she take, exactly. Ally grimaced when she learned just how bad it was. Luckily, none of her priority ones were ransacked too badly by her devilish alter ego.

Ally couldn't stop staring at it.

She tried looking away, but couldn't do it.

She popped a single pill. Just one.

One.

Ally downed it with her bottled water, feeling incredibly guilty yet a little better when it went in her system. She tied the bag off again and shoved it under her bed again. Already she was feeling a little better. Her headache was already disappearing into a dull, unnoticeable ache. And she felt like she was floating on the ground.

Sadly, because she's had so many of these before, she's grown accustomed to them and their effects. She _knew_ she wasn't flying with her head in the clouds. A few more would've done the trick, but she already broke into the bag once. She wasn't going to do it again.

Ally recalled the last time she fell into temptation. She was glad it was a while ago. She recollected her thoughts. Before her plane ride to Miami, she remembered taking something.

Ally shrugged, getting up off the ground. She debating getting back into bed, but shook that off too.

She wanted to know what happened.

Ally dialled up Trish's number, tapping her foot on the ground. She didn't stay in the hangover state for long. Heck, she used to be immune to the damned things. Ally sat on her bed as she listened to the third ring.

 _The person you are calling cannot be reached at the moment, please_ _—_

Ally ended the call. She frowned. Trish must be up and out somewhere. Or still sleeping.

Just then, Ally's phone buzzed in her hand. Ally picked up the call without looking at who it was from, thinking that Trish had just called her back. "Hello?"

"Ally?"

"Dez?" She frowned again. Dez didn't have her number. "You have my number?"

"I have Trish's phone," she heard him say. "She left it in my car yesterday night."

Perfect.

"About that," Ally started. "How was it yesterday? That really was pretty wild," she said. Ally was going to start off slow, nonchalant, trying to draw the information she needed out. She felt despicable even though she was just going to ask what happened last night.

"It was," Dez said. "Definitely. Last year's theme was _Under the Sea_ , we had a lot of sushi and fish and sashimi and teriyaki and other things that ended with - _i_."

"Man," Ally said. She scrapped her toe against the floor of her dorm. "What even happened yesterday. All I could remember was buying you guys drinks at the bar."

Dez laughed on the other end of the line. "And then that was the end of you. I didn't see you again until much later that night."

"Where-where was I exactly?" Ally asked. She felt so weird asking this. But it was true, she couldn't remember a thing.

Nothing.

"You know I'm not really surprised you don't remember anything," Dez said, interrupting Ally on finding out the truth. "You were so wasted I doubt you made anything out of that."

"Continue."

"Well, Kira got in the car first, Trish went after. Piper wanted me to help her find you—she was like, remotely sober enough—so yeah. We found you around the block, actually. You were out like a light against the wall."

"And you and Piper dragged me back?" She asked. That sounded like typical Drunk Ally.

"I had to," Dez said. "Piper... She didn't want to go any further."

"Why?"

"Austin was leaning over you. And you know how Piper gets with Austin."

Oh.

Ally sighed, "Man. I don't remember a thing."

"I didn't suspect you would," Dez sighed. There was a bout of muffled noises on his end of the line. And then some shuffling. "Hey, I gotta go. But I'll call you later."

"Cool. See ya."

"Bye."

Ally added Dez's number to her phone before switching it off and lying back down on her bed. She draped an arm over her eyes, trying hard to recall the night before.

It wasn't that she cared much about what happened, no. It was just she didn't like missing chunks of her life where she wasn't with someone reliable enough to tell her what happened. Yes, Dez was as reliable as they got, but he wasn't there for the entire scene.

The night was too far too fuzzy around the edges.

Ally sighed and shrugged it off. No matter. She was in her dorm—somehow—and unharmed. All she could wish for after a fun night out with her friends. And because she didn't regret anything.

Well, except for the fact that she drank way too much, broke into her bag of unspeakable things and somehow managed to change into matching pajamas while under the influence of liquor. Ally glanced down at her matching sleep shirt and flannel PJ bottoms. She had skill, but she didn't know she was that good.

Go figure.

Ally hummed, feeling a little clouded. She groaned when the grotesque headache pounded through the defences of her anti-depressant. Maybe she should've taken an ibuprofen instead.

Ally made her way to the communal bathrooms down the hall. She brushed her teeth and washed her face, rubbing the zombie-like look out of her eyes. She'd have to admit, out of all of her party morning-afters, this was by far one that had gone smoothly as it possibly could.

As Ally was finishing up with brushing her teeth, a few other girls stumbled into the bathroom. She glanced at them, seeing if she knew them—which she didn't—and then returned to cleaning her teeth. She spit out the extra toothpaste and rinsed her mouth, silently gurgling some water at the back of her throat.

"Oh my god, did you hear?"

"What? Girl, spill everything."

Ally blinked. She pretended to busy herself with some interesting toothpaste instructions.

"Yesterday, night. Oh my god." The voice proceeded to talk about people Ally had no idea were. These kids weren't in any of her classes.

Apparently Freddy slept with Andrea who was dating Markus who was apparently "sick" yesterday and couldn't take Andrea to the formal like she wanted him to. Oh, and that Ben almost got into a car accident while driving Julia home. Which was funny because Julia was apparently with Jackson the time the crash "supposedly" happened.

Drama.

"And then after Jace was done smoking, him and Austin left with this other girl."

"Oooh, who? Who?"

"I don't know."

"Who told you?"

Ally wasn't intently listening but _damn_ did these girls gossip like a flock of juniors in high school. She shook her head at the thought. Junior year was wild.

"She told me it was too dark. All she said was the girl had dark hair."

"That could be anyone in the dark!"

"Except if they're like, blonde or whatever."

Ally sighed. Gossip was so messy. There was nothing reliable about it. Occasionally she liked to listen to rumours, just for a good laugh every now and then. But she learned not to trust these unpredictable words, they were too risky.

She finished tidying up her area around the bathroom counter. Ally hissed when her elbow nudged her toothbrush off the counter. Fuck. She crouched down to pick it up.

"You think it might be that new girl?"

"Who? Ally Dawson?"

Oh god.

"Yeah, didn't Austin like, break up with Cassidy just because Ally was from Illinois? And he likes Illinois, doesn't he?"

"I thought Cassidy got pregnant and _that's_ why Austin broke up with her because... well... _pregnant._ "

Ally shook her head and walked out of the bathroom. Clearly, these girls have heard an insufficient amount of information regarding exactly what happened last night. Ally exited the bathroom, making her way back to her dorm before heading out for breakfast.

She really didn't want to eat in the dining hall. During times like these, she wished she had a car so she could get the fuck out of here.

It suddenly hit Ally that those girls could have been right. She couldn't recall the last few moments of the night before. What if she really did wander off with Jace and Austin somewhere? Dez said she was out cold against the wall, but maybe it was something she did before that knocked her out and not because she had a rusty liver.

There was no knowing what Drunk Ally was doing last night.

Or most of the time, for that particular matter.

Her alter ego was much too hard to control.

Ally sighed, dropping her things in her dorm. She changed into a black zipper hoodie and some black jeans. Nothing flashy when everyone was thinking she might be the girl Austin Moon dumped Cassidy—whatever her last name was—for.

Her head was still pounding, but it was slowly retreating into an unnoticeable throb. Ally was glad she was still good at fighting hangovers. Dallas was awful at this kind of stuff; she used to tease him about it all the time.

 _I'm better than you. Just admit it, baby._

Ally shook her head, sighing at the thought.

She walked down the hall and stopped in front of a door. She glanced at it before raising a fist and knocking her knuckles against the surface of it. After a few knocks, she waited.

There was no answer.

She frowned. Ally put her ear against the door, trying to hear if maybe there was actually someone sleeping or that they were just ignoring her. There was no noise on the other side of the door, as well. Trish must be out with her roommate.

Ally sighed. Looks like she was heading to the dining hall by herself.

She realized she could have called Dez up or something, but he did sound busy and tired on the phone earlier. She didn't have Kira or Piper's numbers, despite being _friends_ for a while now. Ally licked her lips as she crossed the field. The football guys were just getting started.

On her way to the dining hall she saw a few other kids from her classes. There was Chuck and Sun Hee from Marine Bio, eating at a table together. And there was Elle whom was in her English course. Ally was glad she was recognizing the people who lived on campus out and about now. She was going to be spending a lot of time here, almost like high school, but not quite.

Also, she wished she had a roommate who she could talk to when her friends were out.

Ally ate some seafood pasta and had a nice, refreshing glass of orange juice. She was at a table alone, watching people walk to and fro. She was lonely.

Ally scowled once she found out she left her phone in her dorm. Fantastic. She was going to have to go retrieve it before doing anything else. Ally quickly finished her meal before heading back to her dreaded living space. It wasn't that she didn't like her dorm, it was that it got desolate sometimes.

Also, it was her day off and she wanted to do something fun.

 _More fun than that wild formal yesterday?_

 _Shut up, at least I don't regret anything._

 _Do you? Do you really?_

* * *

Sunday wasn't any better.

Ally groaned her way through the weekend. She didn't know why she was feeling so down all of a sudden. Maybe it was because she found nothing well to do with her weekend and was simply wasting it trying to finish an essay.

The rumours about the formal had gotten so twisted.

 _"Justin and_ who _got arrested?"_

 _"Dede didn't sleep with Joe again did she?"_

 _"Wait, Pam's pregnant with Austin's twins?"_

 _"Hunter was selling coke behind the venue again."_

Rumours stay rumours however. There was no need to listen to them. Ally had a bone to pick when it came to rumours. Especially back when she—

There was a knock on her dorm door.

"Come in," she called. She didn't know why she said that. Or how she suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to lock her door. Ally suddenly remembered she was wearing her glasses and scrambled to get them off.

Trish appeared through her doorway. "Hey, Ally."

"Howdy."

Trish snorted. "Formal's over, lovely."

"I picked up a few things from it," she replied. Ally went back to typing away on her laptop. Her essay just didn't want to be completed. It was due Wednesday. She only had a few more days to work on it. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I'm good," Trish said. She was leaning against the doorframe now. Ally knew Trish wanted something.

She waited a few more seconds. Then, "Spit it out already, Trish."

"You wanna sneak into Drama with me?"

Ally closed her laptop and smirked. "Do I?" She hopped out of bed and grabbed her contact lenses in its case. "Give me five minutes."

"Tick tock, Drama starts in ten."

Ally changed into a pair of comfy pants and matched it with a knit sweater. She was growing to love these soft sweaters, as much as she teased them in her previous life. They were actually very comfortable and very affordable and stylish.

God, she was becoming a mom.

Once she had her keys and phone, Ally met Trish outside her door. "All ready."

Trish rolled her eyes, "Took you long enough."

"You're attacking me already?" She asked, shaking her head. "I took like, three minutes."

"Three minutes and forty-eight seconds, ma'am."

"Please don't call me ma'am. I had an epiphany earlier that I was becoming a mom."

"God."

"I know."

The two girls crossed the campus, entering a building Ally hadn't been in since she got to Miami. _West Drama Hall. Stage 218. Stage 216._

Ally had snuck into classes before. Usually the professors didn't really care much about whether you weren't even in the class. Back in New York she had taken a week's worth of random classes; Enriched Physics, World History, A&P. She even snuck into a course that had a guest speaker in Astrophysics. It was interesting at first but became immensely boring and she nearly fell asleep.

"There's going to be performances today," Trish said excitedly. "I wanted to round up as many friends as I could."

"Who else is going?"

"Just Dez and Piper. Kira's volunteering at a seniors home today."

Ally blinked. "Kira volunteers at senior homes?"

Trish shrugged.

The two entered Stage 216. It was a standard auditorium; a stage, rows and rows of movie theatre chairs, dangling lights. The musty smell of old gum and sweat washed over Ally. She understood it was only used for Drama and performing arts and stuff, but man, could they have at least let this place see the sun?

Ally waved Trish off as the Latina descended behind the curtain. She navigated her way through the path between movie theatre seats.

"Ally!"

Ally glanced up. Dez was waving her over.

She made her way over, taking the steps two at a time. Dez was sitting by himself near the very back. It was darker here, even though the rest of the other seats were being filled, she doubted anyone would catch her out-of-place-ness.

"Hey," she greeted him. Ally sat down next to the redhead. Ally's view on Dez was different from when they first met. On her first account, he was this goofy, comically relieving character. But now that she knew a little more about him, spent a little more time with him, she understood just how hard he worked, cared for his friends and how he'd love to bring his goldfish unto campus.

Also, that he tried texting his dog once.

"Cheetos?" He offered her a bag of spicy Cheetos. Ally grabbed a handful before grilling him.

"You snuck snacks in the venue?"

"You don't expect me to sit through all these sweet performances without something to counter it, did you? Trish is the only one with spice in the entire class," Dez shook his head.

"Don't tell me you're taking a culinary class, too?"

"Class," a voice suddenly rang out from below. Ally sharply turned to look at centre stage where a woman with gray hair and grandma glasses was speaking. "It's time we begin with our performances. I asked you to find a monologue to memorize and recite, and today, we will finally see the finished product of my request. First off, Ms. Jacqueline Alver."

Ally watched as Jacqueline Alver took the stage. She was dressed in what looked like a construction worker's daily outfit; a hard hat, the shiny, reflective vest and the cargo pants.

"I hammered my finger by accident, again."

The monologues were weird. Acting was weird in general, Ally figured out. Someone had done a monologue about accidently leaving the stove on and finding out their house was on fire. Someone else recited a little speech on being afraid to ice skate.

There was even a freshman in the advanced drama course. He was exceptional, reciting a monologue about how tormented he was at the thought of his sick dog. It brought the professor to tears.

"That was," Dez took a fake-shaky breath, "So touching."

"I can't believe Willie had to go through all of that," Piper imitated his mock sadness. She had arrived late to the performances but was here now. She wiped her eyes falsely, clutching a hand over her heart. "Poor rottweiler."

Ally sniffed. "You guys are making me cry."

Finally, after a shitload of aimless speeches about nothing quite remarkable, Trish was announced. Dez, Piper and Ally all hooted loudly for the boisterous Latina.

Trish was wearing a party dress, flashy sequins and leopard print made up the image. Her hair was wild, her makeup ruined. She had a single heel on, a wine glass in one hand. Dez snickered. "What's the costume? She always looks like that."

Piper slapped him on the shoulder.

"I had too much to drink last night."

Ally stiffened. She glanced at Trish, suddenly more interested in the thing that she had been. And yes, it was Trish, her friend, she obviously wanted to be paying attention.

Trish sighed, looking at the glass in her hand. She huffed. "I don't remember a thing. I think I might have forgotten my wallet at the bar." Trish ran a hand through her frizzy, puffy hair. "Man, I think I might have even did something I regretted."

Ally held her breath. Why was it so hard to watch Trish's performance?

"You know. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just haven't had fun in a while that I'm getting paranoid for no reason." Trish smiled then, grinning widely. "That's it."

Ally silently cursed whatever greater being did this to her.

"I mean I hadn't had a good drink in a while. And maybe, it was better that way; if I stayed away from alcohol. Oh man, I don't know!" Trish threw her hands in the air and took on an exasperated look. "I just can't recall a single thing."

Ally groaned. Why did her horrid life have to follow her everywhere? So what she regretted having more than a few drinks, Fate didn't have to follow her around, reminding her she made a mistake that she couldn't even remember. She watched Trish walk around the stage and complain a little more. She was feeling antsy now.

Ally groaned. "I can't sit and watch this."

Piper narrowed her eyes at her. "You can't walk out during a performance."

"Trish's especially," added Dez gravely.

Ally just shrugged off her friends. "Emergency," she lied, pointing at her phone in rapid succession. Piper just pinched the bridge of her nose and turned back towards the stage. Dez shrugged, diving back into his bag of Cheetos.

Ally made her way quietly from the second-last row of the theatre. Luckily, not too many people occupied the seats of the very last row, so she didn't disturb too much. Ally crouched as she walked. Trish was busy reciting some of those great lines that probably took hours on end to memorize and recite with great voice projection.

Ally tiptoed her way down the aisles and made her way to the exit. Luckily, the professor had her back turned, and the only lights were those illuminating the stage. _Sorry, Trish._

Ally burst through the exit, dashing through the drama hall. She wasn't one to run away from her problems like that, but hell, that hit too close to home.

Ally sighed, recalling a notorious night she had back in New York. It was a few hours away from being prom night. She sighed, leaning her head against the wall outside the drama hall, sitting with her knees to her chest. She didn't know why she could remember the night in vivid, lively colours even when it was all fuzzy that night itself.

There was too much going on. Drinking chardonnay like grown ups, sneering at the prom king and queen, kissing up on alley walls, laughing until their stomachs ached. Ally scrunched up her face. She said some things that night she could never take back. And he said some things that she'll never forget. And they did some things that maybe wasn't the best at the time but hell, if she could do it again...

This was why she was so afraid of a little drink. A little goes a long way. It can cause you to say things you don't mean, or even more frightening, saying things you mean wholeheartedly.

She clenched her fist. Oh, how naive she was for thinking he actually meant what he said. And how stupid was she for believing the other things that he said? And why did she even let him say them in the first place? She was her own goddamn person. She didn't need someone telling her something she didn't need. Or maybe she did need it.

She unclenched her fist.

It hurt to think about what happened the night after prom. It hurt because it was so... _real._ Sure, it happened before but after everything they said the night before, she thought it could have been a while before they got tired of each other.

And boy, was it a while.

Maybe if she was a little more sober and he was a little more drunk she could've not said exactly what she wanted to. And he would have not had the grace to hear her out. She wished she could take it back, she really did. Whenever she thought about it, she just wished she could forget it ever existed.

Forget that _he_ ever existed. That asshole.

Ally shook her head, nudging it against her knees. If only—

"If it isn't the Yorkie," a voice laughed. "What's the matter, pup? Ran out of treats to chew on?"

"Fuck off," Ally hissed without opening her eyes. She was too caught up in her own little world of bad memories, lucid thoughts.

"Ouch," Austin said. She could tell he was shadowing over her. The sun was out of her eyes for once. "That stung."

Ally opened her eyes and stared at him. A smirk, a t-shirt, jeans and messy blond hair were staring back down at her. There was a mischievous glint in his usually wild brown eyes. Ally tipped her head to the side, "Why won't you leave me alone?"

"Honey, I was making my way to the dining hall before I saw you sitting all alone," he said. Austin smirked at her, an expression that aggravated Ally to no end. "And I thought, _Hey, it's always nice to include the new girl in some conversation, right?_ "

"Wrong."

"How was that hangover yesterday? After the amount I imagine you drank, I'm sure you felt like a dying horse."

"How nice to you to think of me," she said sarcastically. "But no, I was fine. I bounce back quick, if you wanted to know." She sighed, getting up suddenly. Ally had enough of conversation or whatever. And her head was just too full of thoughts. She was too tired and the sun was too bright. She dusted off her clothes as she stood up.

"You know, rumour has it, you and I slept together," Austin told her as they began to walk towards Ally's dorm. She didn't know why he was following her. He said he was going to the dining hall.

"How stupid of me," she muttered. "Sleeping with the boy with a bigger ego than dick."

Austin laughed, putting his hands in his pockets. "You are merciless."

"We Yorkies are like that," Ally replied simply. She was tired.

"At least now I know you prefer dicks to egos."

Ally cocked an eyebrow at him. "You are a horrible person with no filter."

"Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"Fuck off."

"I don't see a point to this."

"You're annoying. Leave me alone."

If anything, Austin was the one who was merciless. Ally groaned as she reached her residential hall. Didn't he have somewhere to be, for god's sake? This was growing tedious.

"Touché," Austin replied, shaking his head at her. Ally made her way down the hall and around the corner. Her dorm was ahead.

"Woof," she said.

Austin blinked. "Excuse me?"

Ally opened the door to her dorm. She turned around to face him. He gave her an easy grin. It made her stomach coil for some odd reason. Ally placed her hand on the door, gripping the square edge.

"That means 'fuck off' in Yorkie."

* * *

 **Yeah yeah, this chapter was kinda boring oops. It served no other purpose than to turn the story around a little, like I mentioned before. With that said, chapter 6 took me forever to write but I think it will make up for the fact this one sucked ass. On the bright side, you got to learn a little more about Ally's past in this chapter.**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	6. fallout

**Hello and welcome to another update! I don't have much to say soooo...**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything.**

* * *

 _the more that i push, and the more you resist  
it's easy to say it's for the best_

* * *

 _Incoming call from Dallas._

Ally waited for this one to die down.

It was only eleven in the morning and Dallas had already called her three times. _Three times._ Each time interrupting a different assignment she was trying to complete; a short poetry analysis for English, the on-going research project for Marine Bio, a short questionnaire for Poli Science.

Ally continued to work on her assignments. It was a Tuesday. Her English essay due next day was already done, and thank god for that. It gave her time to do her _other_ projects.

She snorted at the amount of work that was slowly piling up. Soon she figured she'd be drowning.

And it wasn't even nearing finals week yet.

Go figure.

Halloween was also this week. Kira had invited her to attend a party with her and the others off campus at some junior's house. Dez had asked if they needed to be wearing costumes. Trish snorted so loud. Piper nearly sent her drink flying into Ally's face.

Ally took a break after finalizing the details for her research project. She had already texted Dez to see how he was doing on his.

The brunette was still looking for jobs and a car. It was growing tedious to wait for the bus or walk places herself. It wasn't that she didn't like walking or whatever, it was that she still got lost so easily in the streets despite looking up the directions. She was hoping to buy a car with a GPS.

Ally lost track of time looking at cars and places to work in Miami. She had spent another three hours just aimlessly wandering the internet on her laptop.

Back to work, she supposed.

Ally took one look at her poetry analysis and gagged.

 _I can't do this anymore, oh my god._

The dazed brunette grabbed her phone and nimbly dialled up Trish's number. She waited, hearing two rings before, "Hello?"

"Trish."

"What's up, Ally?" Trish said. There was a bout of static on Trish's end, and then some noises that sounded like Trish said something but was cut off.

"I'm bored. Eh—what? What was that?"

"S-orry," Trish said. "I'm in the —iddle of the dining hall— quite loud in —ere."

"Oh."

"What's up, though?"

"Just wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out."

"Can't. I have a class —ater."

"Okay, that's fine."

"We'll —alk later?"

"Sure."

Trish hung up first. Ally sighed. It was around lunch time. Either dining halls would be filled with people.

Ally sighed again. It turned into a groan. She made up her mind. She was going to head out, maybe eat lunch somewhere in the city. She was tired of the dining hall and the same people and the same talk _about_ the same people.

Some rumours have grown grotesque.

Ally changed into a pair of worn jeans and a plain gray t-shirt. She slipped on a pair of running shoes and grabbed her phone, wallet and keys. She stuffed them into her book bag which was emptied of textbooks. She slung the knapsack over her shoulder, feeling the weight.

Ally headed out of the residential building and similarly, off campus. She sneered at the people who were driving by in their cars, laughing and blasting music with the windows down. She trudged onwards. Ally waited by a crosswalk for the light to go off. Ally glanced at a sign. _Pedestrian crossing. Please slow down._

Oh how it felt to be a pedestrian.

She grumbled, shielding her eyes from the morning sun. She's had enough with this big fat star in the sky always getting in her eyes.

Ally entered the first thrift store she saw. Ally grabbed a pair of semi-stylish sunglasses, not taking too much time to inspect the others. Jut the first one she found cute and wearable. Ally put the thing on her face before even paying for it.

 _Sunglasses, check._

Now, for lunch.

Ally searched up the nearest IHOP on her phone. She grumbled. Ally sighed and began her trek, her stomach already growling at the thought of delicious eggs with bacon and waffles. Maybe she'll have a glass of juice too.

And then her phone buzzed.

 _Incoming call from Kira._

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ally."

"Kira! What's up?" Ally glanced both ways before crossing the street.

"I just wanted to see what you were up to."

"I'm going to IHOP."

"Ah, cool."

Silence.

Ally crossed another street. She was nearing the IHOP now. She could see the big sign a little ways away. The sunglasses definitely helped keeping the sun out of her eyes, thank god.

"Anyway," Kira said. She sounded more cheery. "How was Trish's performance on Sunday? I was stuck reading to some old people."

Ally winced. "Ah, it was great. Dez had spicy Cheetos and we were eating handfuls."

"What was Trish's monologue about? I kept asking her about it but she wouldn't tell me, even when I told her I wasn't gonna be there."

"Drinking too much," Ally said cautiously.

"How fitting since Trish was literally gibberish two nights before."

"Haha," Ally forced out a laugh. "Funny."

"Right?" Kira sounded pleased with herself. "Anyways, I gotta go. Class starts in two."

"Bye." Ally hung up as she pushed her way through the front entrance of IHOP. Instantaneously, the smell of fresh pancakes and butter wafted up her nose. Her stomach growled. She only had an apple for breakfast.

Ally sat down at a booth by herself. A waiter came by and gave her a menu and a glass of water. She smiled gratefully.

Ally took off her glasses and set the menu aside. She knew what she wanted. She basically lived at IHOP back in New York. After a night out, omelettes with hearty sausages and orange juice always got her energy back up. However, all she wanted to do right now was stuff her face with some French toast.

Ally ordered the Strawberry and Banana French Toast. It looked so irresistibly good on the menu; she hoped it lived up to its expectations.

Ally devoured the dish, taking her sweet time to appreciate the fruit and just the nice, appealing plating in general. After thinking about appreciating the plating she grimaced. _I'm so weird._

When the waiter came back to pick up her plate she cleared her throat. "Um. Are you guys hiring, here?"

The waiter turned to look at her. "We aren't right now. But I'm sure an opportunity will come up soon. One always does. Keep an eye out."

"Oh," she sighed a little disappointed. "Thanks anyway."

Ally sighed finished her glass of water before exiting the pancake house. She needed to find something to do, and fast.

Ally decided to walk and check out some of the stores lining the block. There were thrift stores, insurance shops, auto shops—which Ally took a peek at just for the cars—and other restaurants. There was even a liquor store that Ally walked straight past.

She sighed, walking for another twenty minutes. Ally couldn't think of anything else she really wanted to do in the city.

So she went to the Miami Zoo.

* * *

She didn't know the zoo closed at 5pm.

Ally was literally the last person still looking at monkeys. She got kicked out of the zoo after that. She sighed indignantly as they shooed her out the gate as if she needed an extra push.

Also, she didn't get why people took pictures of the animals. It was bad enough they were in cages and shown off like prizes. Yet, these people were flashing their cameras at these poor animals, posing and then getting mad when the creature shifted in the background. Ally did realize it was a zoo and maybe some animals liked to be shown off like in that book she read, _The One and Only Ivan._

That was why Ally hadn't bothered to take her phone out of her pocket the entire time at the zoo. It was a shame, really. She could've figured out it was missing a lot sooner. Ally froze when she couldn't feel the rectangular object anywhere in her pockets or even in her backpack.

She recalled when she had her phone last; IHOP, right when she finished talking to Kira on the phone.

Ally glanced around the streets. Exactly where was she?

 _Oh god, I'm lost._

Ally sighed, beginning the trudge down the street. She could call for a cab. Actually _call_ for one, yelling at the top of her lungs because she didn't have her phone. Ally snickered at that image of her but frowned right after.

She had the rottenest luck.

As she walked down a street, she thought about a time she snuck out during high school. It didn't start out similarly like this one—Ally actually had something to do for the day unlike this aimless one—but it ended in the same tragic state. Lost.

She was driving through the city at night without her phone. She had just come back from some party upstate. She told her mom she was staying at friend's house when really she spent the night in a comatose after drinking too much. She was actually inert for a few hours after waking up. But she promised her mom she had to be home the next morning before nine because they were going out. It was Saturday night.

She couldn't remember why she didn't have her phone, just that she _didn't_ have it. Maybe she left it at the house. Maybe she left it at _her_ house. Either way she was lost and maybe a little hungover.

Tragic, she recalled, shaking her head. It scared her so much, being lost in the city at night. She loved the night life, but being lost and not knowing your way home was even worse. Especially when you're kind of drunk, too.

She was just aimlessly driving past intersections and closed shops, nothing making sense to her slightly-muddled brain.

Somehow, Ally found her way back home that night. It was like five in the morning.

The sound of whirling cars snapped Ally out of her flashback. She blinked. She had come to another crosswalk. The sun was setting in the distance, the sky illuminated by the very last rays of the sun.

Where was IHOP?

Ally sighed. She bit her lip, crossing the street. _Was there by any change a payphone around? Or did people not use those anymore? I do have my wallet. I could pay for a call. Maybe Dez can pick me up. Like, 'Hey, yeah, I'm in the middle of nowhere, can you pick me up?'_

 _Also, where the fuck is IHOP?_

Ally groaned. The one time she actually did something by herself she got lost and lost her phone.

Another question to consider: did people use payphones anymore?

Ally sighed. She glanced at another street she was walking up on. Her feet were sore and she was tired and in such a foul mood. Not only did she smell like animal shit but she also had no fucking idea where she was. On top of that, her phone was missing, last seen at the pancake house of all places.

Again, _payphone?_

Ally glanced around as she stumbled upon a parking lot full of cars. God, she wished she paid attention when he was teaching her how to hotwire a car. Maybe she could hijack one of these suckers and...

 _What am I doing? I'm a good person._ Ally mentally scolded herself. She glanced at the cars again. _Soon._

Just as Ally was walking out of the lot, a car whirled past her. Tires screeched on the pavement. She jumped, startled. "What's a princess like you doing away from the castle at this hour?"

"Running away from the controlling king and the naive queen," she deadpanned. Ally turned around to face Austin. He had his window rolled down, an arm hanging out of it. She frowned at him. His face looked relaxed. A little _too_ relaxed.

Ally walked closer to the car, a little afraid it was going to take off and crush her toes. She observed him more clearly as she got closer. Messy hair, wide wild eyes. She thought his shirt might have been on backwards, too. There was a bruise on his chin and a bandage on his neck.

Odd.

And then, "Are you drunk?"

Austin blinked at her. His wide eyes gave him away. "No."

"You're lying."

"Sweetie, it's called marijuana."

Ally huffed. "You're the epitome of weed. Annoying and all over the place."

"Ee-pit-oh-me," he said, breaking down the word into its syllables. Austin laughed then. "I would offer you some, but I burnt it all up." His boyish grin tugged at a soft spot she had for well... _boyish grins._

Ally wrinkled her nose at him, putting her sunglasses on despite the sky having no sunlight left. "How kind."

"I try."

There was a silence and Ally wondered why she was still here.

Austin seemed to sense her unease. "Need a ride?"

"Sure. But from anyone but you," she said, stating the obvious. Ally sighed, shaking her head. If she were to make it back before curfew, she had to move now. Although, with Austin here, it gave her some reassurance. She mustn't be too far from campus.

Then again, it's _Austin_ and they're probably in some Nebraskan neighbourhood.

"Sweetheart," he said, curling his lip in a smirk at her, "It's dangerous at night, you know?"

"It's night?" She asked, genuinely curious. It only looked like it was 6pm out from the sky. Although, the sun was down and the dry air was beginning to grow humid and a little chilly. Just a smidge.

Austin sighed, his breath carrying the smell of weed to her nose. "It's actually 7:46pm but the sky's getting dark," he said. And then, "Get in the car."

He was a stranger, she reminded herself. And he was driving under the influence as well. Ally considered her other options. Keep walking until she found UM? Hitch a ride with some other stranger? She supposed he was as close to a reliable driver as a drunk Uber at this point.

That's it. She'll consider this an Uber.

No tips, of course.

Ally glared at him, just to let him know she's only getting in because she had no other options, not because she wanted to.

Ally walked to the other side of his car, a Chrysler sedan. The door was already unlocked. Ally groaned as she saw a hat laying on her seat.

Austin shrugged at her.

Ally took the snapback and flung it to the backseat. She glanced behind her as she watched it.

She took in the scene as Austin merged onto the road.

The outside of the car didn't look too bad. She only noticed a small scratch on the left passenger side, easily not the driver's mistake although she suspected otherwise with Austin being the driver. Other than that, Ally noticed that the left taillight was broken. She glanced around the car.

The interior was a different story. It was messy. There was an ashtray in the car, burnt out butts of cigars sat in the dish, filling the car with the smell of tobacco. There was also a pipe she suspected he used earlier. Under her feet were empty plastic water bottles and what she believed to be an old cardboard box filled with granola bars at one point. There was a mini snow globe on his dashboard, a pile of unsorted CDs beside it.

In the backseats were a pile of cards, an unfinished game of poker of sorts. There were magazines and jackets and blankets. There was also a bra hanging from one of the seats and a pair of glittery high heels on the ground under the seat. Ally grimaced at the sight.

"You done nosing back there?" Austin laughed. The sound filled the small space. Somehow, she could feel his laugh with her own lungs. "You gotta keep your eyes on the road too, I'm not so sure I'm the most reliable person right now."

Ally blinked at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better for getting in a car with a stranger?"

"Honey, I'm no stranger," he drawled. Austin made a sharp left that made Ally hold her breath. "I'd say we've become acquaintances by now."

Ally didn't say anything after that. She watched as the lights to the city switched on as night descended on the town. She grew weary of watching the road so intently, one hundred percent sure Austin was going to get them both killed any second now.

"Jesus," she muttered as he ran a red light. "Are you usually this bad at driving?"

"I'm not sure you wanna insult the person going 110 in the city right now, sweetheart," Austin crinkled his nose. Ally looked at his face for a second, illuminated by the city lights.

Ally looked away. "What were you doing at a library parking lot?" She asked suddenly. She still couldn't believe she was going to hijack some librarian's car.

"Maybe I read."

"Doubt it."

"Questioning my reading now, huh?" He asked.

"Questioning why you were at the library, more like it."

Austin laughed. "Maybe I was borrowing CDs. Does that make you feel better?"

"No." _No one does that anymore._

Austin made another sharp left, nearly getting run over by a car trying to speed a red light. The momentum sent Ally straining against her seatbelt. Ally felt the wind get sucked out of her lungs. The car blared it's horn at Austin. Austin rolled down the window and looked behind him. "Watch those headlights. Don't wanna smash those pretty things. Although I can't say the same for your girlfriend."

Ally took a breath. She was gripping the seat. She swallowed. "Oh my god."

Austin returned his wild eyes on the road. Ally was still rigid in her seat. And then suddenly Austin put his hand on her knee and she stopped breathing altogether. The gesture was so gentle it nearly made her jump out of her own skin.

Her heart hammered in her chest.

She glanced at him.

"Don't step on the water bottles." Austin gently guided her leg off the empty water bottle she was crunching underfoot. Ally didn't even notice she was doing that. They must've rolled under her foot with his reckless turns.

She found something to say as he took his hand off her knee. "Why don't you throw those away?"

Austin shrugged.

Ally was praying now. _Please let this car ride be over, oh my god. I promise I'll be good from now on. I promise I won't do anything bad. I'm sorry I was thinking about hotwiring a car. I just want to get back home, oh my god. Please, please, please..._

Before she knew it, Austin was pulling into the parking lot on campus. Ally placed her hand on the door, pulling, tugging on it, hoping he'd unlock the door. When he did, Ally nearly fell out of the car.

Ally groaned then. _Shit._ God, she was so distracted by trying not to die she forgot to get what was most important to her.

"Got something in your throat, Yorkie? Or are you just growling at me?" Austin asked. His eyes weren't as dilated now and she could tell he had sobered up a little.

Ally was in no mood for this. "No," she snapped at him. "My phone is at IHOP."

"You left your phone at IHOP?"

"I _forgot_ my phone at IHOP."

Austin snorted. He lit a cigarette. The smoke drifted skyward, highlighting the dark night sky. Ally watched the smoke fly away before she glanced back towards the exit of the parking lot. IHOP.

She heard Austin exhale. "I best you hop in."

"Was that supposed to be a pun?" She turned back around to examine him. The bandage on his neck looked out of place. She wondered what happened.

Austin gave her an easy grin. "I'm not completely sober."

"I figured."

"Hop in."

"Stop making the IHOP puns," she muttered as she flung the door of his sedan open. "I get it."

"That wasn't a pun."

Ally impatiently waited for Austin to finish off his cigarette. He stubbed it out and left it in his ashtray. She eyed it suspiciously, wondering how many of these things he smoked a day. Ally disregarded the thought as he started the engine.

Ally glanced at the clock built into the car. _8:17pm._ Ally sighed. She kept her eyes on the dark road, wondering if this was going to be her last car ride ever. She sure hoped not.

Austin made a right.

"IHOP," he said, pulling into the right lane. "International House of Pancakes."

Ally didn't say anything. Instead, she yawned.

"Tired?"

 _Of you? Yes._ "No."

Austin pulled into IHOP's parking lot. Ally hopped out of the car. "You don't have to wait for me," she said, not to his face but not _not_ to his face, either.

"What kind of acquaintance would I be if I just left you here?"

Ally sighed, walking into the IHOP. It was pretty full, despite being more of a breakfast food place more than anything. She walked to the counter, glancing around to see if she could see the waiter she saw that morning.

"Hi, may I help you?" A redheaded waitress appeared instead.

"Um, yes, actually," Ally said. "I left my phone here earlier. I was wondering if you guys happened to see it or-"

The waitress smiled at her. "A phone? Hm. Give a second, darling."

Ally smiled at her and waited patiently. Hopefully, Austin would get bored and just leave her alone. If she had her phone she could call a cab or Dez. Or anyone else for that matter. She wasn't too picky after that last car ride.

The waitress reappeared holding something extremely familiar. "I believe this is yours?" She handed Ally her phone.

Ally grinned. "Thank you so much."

The waitress smiled. "I heard you were looking for a job here too."

This caught Ally off guard. She just nodded her head, stuffing her phone into her pocket. She mentally sighed when she realized her backpack was in Austin's car. Can she remember to do anything right today?

"Well, we aren't hiring at this moment," the lady said. "But we can give you a call if we ever are."

"That'd be great, thanks."

So Ally left her phone number with IHOP, feeling a little better about potentially having a job in the near future. She smiled at the redhead waitress before exiting the International House of Pancakes. Ally frowned then, because Austin was still outside, leaning against his car smoking a cigarette.

The blond turned around when he heard her footsteps approaching the car. He smirked at her. "I was starting to think you weren't gonna come out. You were getting cozy with that waitress in there."

"Oh fuck off," Ally grumbled. "I—" She bit her tongue. She didn't need to tell Austin about potentially getting a job here. She just shook her head.

Austin shrugged before stomping on the butt of his cigarette. He got in the car and glanced at Ally through the passenger side window. Ally glared back at him. "You getting into the car or what?" He asked, rolling down the window.

"Or what?" She asked, feeling cheeky. Ally crossed her arms over her chest.

"Honey, get in the car."

"Please?"

Austin gave her a _really?_ look, tipping his head down to look at her. "Honey, get in the car, _please?_ "

Ally grinned. "That's what I like to hear."

Austin smirked. "Honey."

"I meant please."

"So you have a _please_ kink. Good to know," he said, driving through an intersection. Ally just rolled her eyes, resting her head against the headrest.

A question nagged at her. "Is your shirt on backwards?"

Austin chuckled. "My shirt concerns you?"

Ally turned away from him to look out the window.

It was dark out now. There wasn't even a single star to illuminate the sky. The streetlamps did the illuminating for the stars. Ally glanced at the shadows that danced across the dashboard of Austin's car. They kept appearing and glowing, casting whimsical shadows over the snow globe.

Ally gave Austin a side glance. The street lights lit up his face. They cast soft shadows against the hollow of his neck. The ridges in his face became softer in the yellow light, blemishing the hard look of his face. His jaw was taunt but somehow everything looked gentler in the night. There was a spot on his temple that looked extra soft and she wanted for a second to touch it with her fingertips.

Austin turned to look at her then. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Ally looked away.

They pulled into the UM parking lot. Ally yawned. It wasn't even 9pm yet but she felt like sleeping for an eternity. Also, she had class tomorrow. Maybe her body had gotten used to the routine of classes already.

Ally hopped out of the car, making sure everything was in her bag. She stretched, arching her back and lifting her hands over her head. Austin walked around the car and gave her a look. When she turned to glare at him, he was glancing at the residential buildings. She wondered if she imagined him looking at her.

"Thanks for the ride," she muttered.

Austin coughed. "What was that?"

"Thanks for the ride," she muttered a little louder. She saw him grin. Ally shouldered her backpack. She began the trek to her dorm. She was halfway across the parking lot when she realized Austin was following her. She turned to look at him. "What are you doing?"

"What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't walk you to your dorm?"

"I thought we were acquaintances?"

"I can be a gentleman, too."

Ally was too tired to find an adequate insult so she just let him follow her. They trudged past the grass where some night-time picnics were going on. Ally wrinkled her nose at that, preferring the football guys opposed to the losers on checkered blankets with their hams and cheeses spread out.

She made her way to her dorm, stopping in front of the door. Ally unlocked it with her key and turned around before stepping inside. She glared at Austin, waiting for him to leave.

Austin gave her a smirk, tipping an invisible hat at her. "It was nice being your chauffer today. Got to learn you get lost easily and forget things."

Ally huffed at him. "Why are you still here?"

Austin shook his head. He glanced at her face for a heartbeat. It felt longer. She found herself lingering on his eyes. "Good night, princess."

Ally slammed the door in his face.

* * *

 **I'm happy to say things only get interesting from here on out. Each chapter adds a little to the bigger picture (which is actually coming up). And I gotta admit... might have to change the rating of the story soon.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading. Also a huge thank you to all the reviewers who are giving great feedback! Thanks a bunch! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	7. when the sun goes down

**Hellloooooo I'm back with another update! In contrast to what I said last chapter about things getting interesting... it _does_ get interesting but not like, super interesting. I will tell you that everything from chapter 10 onward will be pretty exciting though. These chapters are just the build up to achieve that if you know what I mean ;)**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything!**

* * *

 _and what a scummy man, just give him half a chance  
i bet he'll rob you if he can_

* * *

The next few days were routine.

Wake up, sort a few things out and then attend classes. Homework took up most of her time in between, so there was no place for doing much else. She hated that her classes were near the end of the week. It meant she had the weekend to slave over homework.

Ally was sprawled out on her bed now, the sun high in the sky to indicate a Friday noon. Ally had her round spectacles on her face, glancing warily at her laptop. She had a bunch of essay documents open, none of which had more than a few words typed in it.

She sighed, glancing out the window. The football guys were still out there, doing what they did best; playing football and looking hot as hell.

Ally rolled over, crunching a few criteria papers under her weight. She sighed, feeling stumped especially on her Political Science assignment. She wished she recorded the lecture.

"Goddamn it," Ally muttered as she smoothed out a checklist that her professor gave her.

 _Incoming call from Dez._

Ally tapped her phone and put the speaker on. "This is Ally."

"Ally," Dez said enthusastically. "How are you today?"

Ally snorted. "Slaving over school work," she said. Ally groaned as she realized she just lost another one of her criteria sheets. Ally glanced under her bunk.

"Gross," Dez said. "Say, how does lunch with Trish, me and the others sound?"

Ally grinned. "Where're we headed?"

"A Thai place twenty minutes off campus."

 _Bingo!_ Ally picked up her wrinkled sheet of paper off the ground. She placed it in a neat pile with her other sheets of paper. She nodded her head in approval. "Twenty minutes just for Thai?"

"It's good Thai," Dez protested feebly.

"If you say so," she laughed. "Count me in."

"Meet me and my Audi in the East parking lot in two hours."

"You got it. See you then."

"Bye, Ally."

Ally turned her phone off and tried to focus on her homework then. It was hard. It was a Friday, for goodness sake. She should be out and about, doing something other than school work. At least now she had a motive to get out of bed in two hours.

She sighed.

Ally continued her research on the diverse habitats of some sea creatures. She had a huge research project for Marine Bio. It was supposed to be for half her term's grade, a huge portion of her mark. Dez too had the project. He was in her class, after all.

Just two more hours of trying to finish her homework and she was going to be chowing down with her friends on some sweet Thai. Ally sighed again. She just needed to hold her ground for two more hours.

Her stomach growled.

Of course with two hours she could finish her homework, but it looked like her appetite had other plans. Ally sighed. _I'll get a small snack from the dining hall. Wouldn't want to ruin my appetite completely._

The brunette was wearing a white cotton t-shirt and gray sweatpants. Despite the heat, she found her outfit fitting. Ally got off her bed with a grunt and grabbed her keys. She was going to grab a bite from the dining hall. Just to quench the hunger for a while so she could finish talking about manatees.

Ally trudged across campus, trying not to drag her socks-and-sandaled feet across the grass. She wasn't feeling miserable or anything, she was just tired and burdened by all the school work.

She snuck a glance at the football guys. And then quickly looked away. They were all muscle tees, tanned skin and arms. Ally shook her head and continued her walk to the dining hall.

Was it just her or did it suddenly get hotter?

At last, she pushed the door open. It was hot outside, but inside the hall it was cool, air-conditioned. Ally took a plate and looked at the table. Lunch was being served; salads, soups and sandwiches. She shrugged and grabbed a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water.

She found an empty seat and sat down. Ally bit gratefully into the sandwich, laughing again at how ironic it is that she's eating fish while studying the patterns of extinct fish at the same time.

When she was back in her dorm, only an hour remained before she was to meet the others by Dez's car. Ally decided it was time to start getting ready. She found a plaid button up—the only one she owned, actually—and started to put it on. She slipped out of her gray sweatpants in exchange for a pair of worn jeans. Ally tied her hair into a ponytail to keep it from getting in her face when she was chowing down.

Ally smoothed down her shirt and jeans, grabbing a pair of socks to put on. She grabbed her purse hanging from the coat hanger by the door. She placed her phone and wallet, keys and other things inside.

Ally made her way across campus towards the parking lot. It was a longer trek than anticipated, a good six or seven minutes of walking. She sighed as she realized halfway there that she forgot to grab her sunglasses off her desk. Ally shook her head as Dez's Audi came into view.

Dez was perched atop the hood of his red car, looking at his phone despite the sunlight that must have been glaring down on the screen. Ally could already see Trish in the passenger seat, her feet kicked up on the dashboard.

Dez looked up as she got closer. "Ally."

"Dez."

The car's horn blared. "Trish," came a voice from inside the car.

Ally laughed. "Is this all?"

"Kira and Piper are on their way."

Ally nodded her head. "Then all's going well."

"You hungry?" Trish asked from inside the car as Ally got herself seated in the backseat.

"You have no idea."

Trish laughed. She shook her head then, her curly hair flying all over the place. Ally nearly had to duck to avoid getting hit by one of Trish's voluminous curls. Suddenly, Trish leaned over and honked the horn again. "Here comes Kira."

Ally squinted. "And Piper."

Dez hopped into the car and glared at Trish. "What'd I tell you about putting the key into ignition just for the horn?"

"I'm sorry," Trish said very un-sorry. "Would you rather I use my voice to yell at you?"

"And who's car is this?"

"Why'd you leave the keys on the dashboard? You know I could've locked you out if I wanted to, hothead."

Dez snorted. "Who's the hothead?"

"Clearly the one with flaming orange hair."

"For your information, it's _Outrageous Orange_ according to Crayola."

"Hey guys," Kira said as she swung the left backseat door open. She plopped down in the middle seat, beside Ally who was on the right. "What'd I miss?"

Ally sighed. "Trish and Dez—"

"—Being Trish and Dez," Piper concluded, sitting next to Kira and closing the door. Ally nodded helplessly. "That's what we thought."

"Okay," came Dez's voice from the driver's seat. He turned around to face Ally, Kira and Piper."Is everyone buckled in? Does anyone have to use the bathroom? Please keep voices to a minimal level. Anyone need to do some last minute preparations? If and when the airbags activate we all follow protocol and—"

"And this is why I already started the car," Trish groaned.

The three girls in the backseat laughed.

Dez began the path to the Thai place, stepping on the gas and revving the engine. Ally stared out the window as Piper and Trish chatted about what happened in their last classes. Kira was still trying to find her seatbelt.

"And then Prof was like, ' _The paper's gotta be submitted by Monday._ '"

"No way," Trish muttered. "Monday? That's too soon for a freaking fifteen page essay."

"Right?" Piper agreed. The wavy blonde girl sighed.

Dez made a left.

Kira finally clipped her seatbelt on. "Geez, I hate sitting in the middle."

Piper stopped her conversation with Trish to glance at the girl sitting between her and Ally. "Then why'd you get in first?"

Kira shrugged.

When they got to the Thai place, it was luckily not too filled up with hungry customers despite being lunch hour. The group made their way inside and got seated at a table in no time. Ally had to admit, Thai wasn't her favourite but this place made it seem like she had Thai every single day of her life.

The restaurant was nice; white table cloths, a flower vase on each table, golden decorations, nice chandeliers, and comfy chairs. Everything about the place was spectacular. And Ally figured the food was going to be just as good. The gourmet smells were, after all, wafting over to where their group had been seated; a round table in a corner of the place.

"Well," Dez said as they all settled down and finished ordering. "Whaddya think?"

"How do you always have a restaurant to go to?" Ally asked. Just last week they were at a 'taco place' as Dez put it. Ally thought they were going to your typical Chipotle but no. Instead, it was this unheard place with a few shady costumers milling around and reading the paper.

However, when Ally took a bite out of her taco, she forgave Dez for bringing them to such a crappy-looking place. The taco was _heaven._

Dez chuckled. "It's a secret."

Kira turned to Trish. "Quick, Trish! I'll hold him down while you and Piper look for the government files he's hiding."

Ally laughed. "Not here guys, the food is coming."

Once again, Ally was blown away by Dez's choice of cuisine. All of these places she wouldn't dare set foot in herself, yet somehow Dez convinced them all to give it a try. Ally found out she really liked Thai. Or, well, the Thai that was being served here.

When they were done eating, the group just sat around the table, sipping the drinks they ordered. Ally was stuffed. She watched as Piper took a sip of her lemonade, swirling the straw around the ice cubes.

Trish, Dez and Kira were discussing the recent gossip on celebrities.

"No way," Dez said.

Kira nodded. "Yes way."

"What? They've been together for like, seven years!"

"And that's why they're getting divorced."

"At least they didn't cheat on each other. They're being mature adults and breaking it off nicely."

"Good point."

"So, what are we doing now?" Ally asked, cutting off the stream of celebrity gossip. She was getting a little bored, and sitting around after eating for a while made her feel like she was going to explode.

Dez blinked. "Good question."

Piper stopped slurping on her straw. "Bowling?"

Trish wrinkled her nose. "Bowling? Where'd that come from?"

Piper frowned. "According to Google—"

Kira voiced a complaint. "I only had time for lunch. I gotta get back to studying."

"Studying?" Trish asked confused. "You don't study."

Kira glared at her.

"Holy shit," Piper suddenly muttered. She was still glancing at her phone since she resorted to Google to figure out the meaning of bowling for Trish. Now she was looking at the screen of her phone in shock.

"No cursing Piper, we're in public," Dez said solemnly.

"Look at this," Piper said, shoving her phone at anyone who would take it. It was a screenshot of some texts from one person to another.

"Woah, back it up," Kira said. "Who's texts are these?"

"No idea, but Elle sent them to me."

Ally was curious. "What do they say? What's happening?"

Trish snickered. "More gossip."

Ally slumped back in her chair as she heard Trish's answer. "Ugh. I hate gossip."

"Then you're definitely not gonna like this," Kira muttered. She tossed Piper's phone over to Ally. Piper made a gasping noise as Ally nearly dropped the strawberry blonde's phone. The girl sighed when Ally had her phone safely in hand.

Ally read the texts.

Gossip.

About her.

She gasped, running her thumb over the words.

"Holy," she muttered, more shocked than anything else. Apparently, she was now from Philadelphia and used to work at an auto shop with her aunt. The person sending the texts—probably Elle or her friend as Piper confirmed—was just as shocked as Ally was. Not only was she from Philadelphia but she was a native from Ohio as well.

Incredible.

Dez took a sip of Piper's lemonade. "Rumour has it you and Austin Moon slept together the night of the formal, too."

Ally wrinkled her nose, remembering what the blond told her a few days prior. She tried not to dwell on the thought, however. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She just wanted to shout at the top of her lungs that she was just another normal girl from New York.

Trying to pass as one, that is.

 _I'm a goddamn girl from New York!_

"Cut it out, Dez," Trish snapped at him. The redhead recoiled at Trish's tone. "We're here enjoying some Thai food, not some vile spawn of the devil."

"I second this," Piper muttered ever so slightly.

So they continued to talk about whatever that wasn't the spawn of the devil.

* * *

Dez dropped her off at the edge of the parking lot. She thanked the redhead as he drove away, attending to some Friday night soiree of sorts. She didn't ponder too hard on it.

It was quarter past three o'clock. The sun was still shining down on the happy city of Miami.

Ally was making her way from the parking lot to the fields. Residents of UM were hanging around the facility, some on the grass, some on tables under trees, some just walking on the designated path and talking. She even saw some people getting ready to go for a bike ride.

She took her time walking across the grass. The feel of the afternoon air on her skin was a blessing. It reminded her about all the good and wonderful things about life. Ally sighed contently, watching her feet dig into the green grass. She was surprised the grass was even _green._ It was nearing fall and the sun was still blazing about.

Ally closed her eyes as she walked, trying desperately to lose herself in the cool breeze. She learned that wind like this only rarely came by on a hot afternoon like this one.

Ally took the elastic band out of her hair, deciding to braid it on the way to her dorm. She kept her eyes closed as she ran her hand through her hairs, shaking the natural waves out. The wind billowed through the trees.

The sudden rush of cold brought back a memory. It was only a flash, but she could still remember everything so clearly; atop the Bird Building, wind whipping her hair back, smiling and feeling like a million dollars before everything came crashing down.

There was a whirling noise.

And suddenly, she was seeing stars.

But it was day time?

Ally staggered backwards, suddenly, trying to open her eyes that were now stinging. Ally felt something hot rush down the front of her face, her nose feeling like it just got hit by a school bus.

"Holy shit," she heard someone from a distance yell.

Ally lost her footing on the curb of the walkway, wobbling on a single foot before landing ungracefully on her bottom. She yelped, still trying to open her eyes. Her hands were on her face, trying to figure out the problem. Blood rushed from her nose onto the ground. Ally felt her world spinning.

Behind her, she heard the sound of a football making impact with the ground.

"Oh my god—I'm—Oh my god," she heard a voice mutter. Suddenly, her eyes could no longer register any sunlight behind her eyelids. Someone was standing over her.

"Fuck, I just hit her with a football," she heard someone mutter.

A hand grabbed her shoulder. It was big, nearly drowning her shoulder. Ally instinctively jerked her arm away. "Don't touch me," she muttered, her voice sounding a bit nasally since she was holding her nose in her hands now.

"No, no, no. Here, let me help you." Again a hand reached out to her shoulder. It slipped behind her and grabbed her under the arms, hauling her to her feet. Ally's face was on fire.

A hand slipped behind her, snaking around her waist to support her. Ally pried an eye open. It was only for a millisecond but she saw all that she needed to. Blond hair, brown eyes and a bandage on his neck.

Now her face was on fire for two different reasons.

Ally jerked back again once she was certain she could walk on her own. "I don't need your help," she muttered. She had to keep her eyes closed because they stung so bad. She felt that if she opened them they'd cascade with tears not because she was crying or anything but because a damn _football_ just clobbered her in the face and now it was stinging like a motherfucker and won't function right.

"Sweetheart, I don't think you could even help yourself right now," came the amused voice of Austin. He had a point but that didn't mean she was going down without a fight.

"Kindly direct me to the infirmary and we'll call it even," Ally gritted out through her teeth, feeling the pressure on her face. _Oh my god, is my nose broken? I could sue him._

A shiver ran through her as Austin placed his hand on the small of her back. He led her indoors—they were on track so far, thank god—and down a hallway. She figured it was the main building.

What she didn't figure was when his hand departed from her back and she could hear the sudden noise of keys. The sound was too familiar, keys, a door being opened. It was a noise Ally heard every day.

The noise of a dorm door being opened.

Before she could react, Ally was ushered inside Austin's dorm courtesy of that hand of his. She was too blind and her face was too hot for a protest to bubble from her lips.

The hand pushed her gently, moving from her back to her shoulder. _Sit back_ , was its unspoken request. Though this was going against everything Ally stood for, she slowly sat back, but not before making a grumbling noise to indicate that she in no way was giving in.

There was some shuffling as Ally tried to open her eyes. Her eyes were still stinging, but she wasn't on the verge of tears anymore. She felt like she just ran into a glass wall. Her hands were still holding her nose, trying to stop the burning.

Suddenly, something soft startled her. She flinched. A hand pried her own off her face. She resisted, but ultimately gave into the hand that slowly caressed her face, prying her other hand from her nose. She had never been touched with such reverence in her life. It was if she were a fragile thing, and normally she would protest, but his soft hands made her feel so giddy inside.

If he was soft, maybe she could be fragile.

Forgetting where she was for a moment, Ally gave into the softness of Austin's hands. They were rough, calloused but gentle against her skin. In contrast to the burning fire spreading across her face, his hands were ice cold.

Something covered her face then; a cloth. It gently swiped at her face, wiping away the sweat and the blood that had clung to her skin because of her messy hands. Ally couldn't believe she was giving into the hands of the spawn of the devil. He worked that cool cloth like magic. She leaned in a little to his touch and maybe she imagined it, but she felt his movements stop just a little, only to start up again, gentler than ever. It felt as if actual water were soothing her skin.

"Here," Austin murmured, giving her the cloth. She finally opened her eyes. His back was turned to her, standing in another corner of the room, hovering over his cabinet. Ally wiped her face once more before turning to scan the room.

Messy, just like the interior of his car.

And then she frowned at the cloth on her hand. Her nose had stopped bleeding miraculously. "Why do you have a wet cloth—"

"Don't ask," Austin replied, his voice blank.

Ally huffed. _Sheesh._ She watched his back. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black Adidas track pants.

Austin turned around to face her suddenly. Ally, embarrassed, quickly glanced away. The blond walked back over to her, crouching by the foot of the bed to be on eye level with her. She was still looking out the window. His dorm overlooked another part of the large, grassy field.

"Hey," he murmured softly. Her stomach flipped at his voice. Ally was still looking out the window when he cupped her chin in his big hand and turned her face towards him. Ally's face burned as her heart hammered rhythmically against her chest. Austin stared straight into her eyes, searching for something. She marvelled at how his eyes looked like pools of melted gold, sparkling yet dulled.

Ally blinked first, her stomach dancing. Austin took a breath. "Let's see that nose of yours." He took her face in his hands and tilted it towards the sunlight from the window and he smirked at her as he held control over her head. "It'll bruise, but I'm sure you'll be fine." Ally gave him a look. His fingers got caught in her hair as he pulled his hand away. She lifted her hand to place her hair back behind her ear but Austin did it first.

They looked at each other and suddenly the air in the room felt like it weighed something.

Austin looked away first, clearing his throat. "Here," he said, his voice returning to normal. He handed her what looked like a bag. When she held it in her hands, it was cold. A bag of ice for her nose.

"Why—how do you have a bag of ice in your dorm?" She asked, her voice quivering from their little moment. She hoped hadn't noticed.

Austin chuckled, the smirk returning to his face. He placed a hand on her knee. "Don't question what I can smuggle in here, peaches."

Ally glanced at her knee. His hand was covered in blood from her nose and she grimaced. "Your hands."

Austin laughed, the sound like a soft breeze nuzzling her ear. She felt warm all over. "Don't worry," he said standing up and taking his hand off her knee. Ally didn't know why but she suddenly missed the warm feeling despite the heat. "My hands are always covered in blood." Austin glanced at her, sending her a sly smile. "That came out wrong."

Ally laughed. It came out nervous.

"You should wash up," he said, motioning to her hands which were covered as well. She nodded. Ally stood up suddenly and immediately felt dizzy. She felt weak in the knees.

Austin caught her by the waist as she nearly fell into his chest. "Easy," he murmured.

Ally glanced up at him, catching his eyes before she broke away from his hand suddenly. _Fuck._ She didn't say anything as she wiped her hands as best as she could with the cloth, avoiding his eyes as she opened the door. Ally left the bag of ice on his bed. She tossed the cloth back at him as she exited his dorm, not turning to see if he caught it.

She knew he did.

Ally made a mad dash for her own dorm, halfway across campus. She still felt dizzy, but for a different reason now. Ally broke through the door and raced into the bathroom, turning on the first tap and splashing water onto her hands. She didn't even glance at the mirror in front of her yet.

And when she did, she was shocked.

Her face was pristine. Her nose looked fine, the bruise barely visible at the moment. Her face had no trace of the blood she felt earlier. Ally gaped at herself. She looked even better than she had this morning.

 _Magical cloth._

When she finished scrubbing her hands, she just stared at her reflection in the mirror for a while. Trying to comprehend what just happened was what she was attempting to do. Ally looked at herself in the mirror. She sighed, closing her eyes and relieved Austin's awfully gentle hands on her face, the soft tone in his voice, the dark light in his eyes that seemed to be telling a story.

She opened her eyes.

She realized then that Austin hadn't said sorry for clobbering her with the football. And that she hadn't said thank you when he took care of her bleeding nose.

As Ally walked out of the bathroom, she thought to herself; _how can the bad guy be so good?_

Even more so, she thought about Austin. _Who is he?_ was the question lingering at the back of her mind. Just a few days ago, he was running red lights and finishing cigarettes before she could even blink. Now, he was a hero with a pack of ice and tender hands and eyes that made your stone-cold heart melt into water.

But then he was also the one who said, _My hands are always covered in blood._

Then again, he was also the one who took her face in his hands, fingers in her hair, to check the condition of her nose. And he called her _peaches_ and somehow it was different than princess and sweetheart and honey.

Who the hell was Austin Moon?

* * *

 **Oookay. I'm happy to say that the story is progressing well. There was something in this chapter you might need to remember to figure out something in the future, but I wouldn't dwell on it too much. :)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	8. dangerous

**Heyy! I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I just wasn't ready to post this chapter yet. With this being said, now that school is starting up again, I won't be updating as frequently (i.e. every week) but just keep your eyes out on Thursday!**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything!**

* * *

 _i bet you didn't know that i was dangerous_

* * *

Ally was tired.

She was sitting in her dorm, glasses on, staring at a spot on the wall. She couldn't remember what motivated her to stare at it in the first place, just that she had been staring at it for a damn while now.

It'd been days since she's seen Trish, Dez, Kira, Piper and coincidentally Austin. An early Wednesday morning with the off-campus students arriving for the earliest of classes. Ally couldn't remember when she woke up, just that it was a pretty long time ago. The sun was just beginning to make an appearance in the horizon. She stared at the rising sun until it was blinding.

She had classes today, two of them. However, even as she glanced over at her proudly finished assignments, she just couldn't find it in her to even get up let alone sit through a class.

Ally had it decided even before she put a pair of pants on; hand in the assignments and get the fuck off campus.

She couldn't take it anymore. The dorms, the routine, the sun. Her old self was itching to be let loose. However, she was scared that if that happened, she wouldn't recognize herself anymore.

She was cornered.

Ally sighed, rubbing her eyes, breaking the trance. Staring at a wall had done her no good. She had been up at 6am and it was now only teetering on 7:49am.

Ally rolled back over on her bed, rubbing her hand over her eyes, holding her round spectacles in another hand. She sighed tiredly, letting her mind roam free. A million thoughts raced through her head. A lot of _what if_ s and _maybe_ s were usually what dashed through her thoughts. However, they remained _what if_ s and _maybe_ s.

Before, most of her _what if_ s and _maybe_ s involved New York and her mom and Dallas and just that period of her life in general. What she could have done, what she should have done, what she lost the chance to do. She already had an ever-growing list of people she needed to apologize to, punch, scream at and so forth. She even had a few debts she had to pay up and a few favours to cash in on.

Now, her _what if_ s and _maybe_ s had turned into thoughts about rejecting Dez's restaurant offers, hearing gossip she didn't want to, getting closer to her friends and learning more about them. Everything traced back to that day she didn't want to go to the spaghetti factory with Dez and Kira, however. That was a real bummer.

 _"You should've seen the size of that meatball, Ally. Oh man."_

 _"I get it Kira, it was a good meatball."_

 _"Good? Hell, it was fucking fantastic!"_

More recently, her thoughts had clouded on a certain topic. Austin Moon. There were no _what if_ s and _maybe_ s. Her thoughts were blank whenever she thought about him. She couldn't understand him, and maybe that frustrated her to the point where she couldn't even coherently have thoughts about him. She always came to the same conclusion, however.

He confused her to no end.

One minute he was Lucifer in the flesh; annoying, cocky, and devilishly handsome, sporting a smirk wherever he went. With that messy hair and seemingly always present bandage on his neck, he looked like he came from the pits of hell itself to come and torture the innocent by taunting them with a single cigarette each time.

However, the next minute he was a gentleman; giving her a ride home from who knows where and cleaning a wound as if he were caring for an injured animal. His eyes were soft as how his hair looked, his hands gentle and careful.

And _what the fuck?_ Why did he have a cool cloth and a bag of ice ready to go? It was too hot to even keep the ice cubes in a glass of lemonade from melting let alone an entire bag in a fucking dorm room. And to think that he had them _ready?_

Ally rolled over again, this time miscalculating her action and falling flat on her face on the ground. She groaned, " _Fuck._ "

Ally stood up suddenly, checking the time. 8:26am.

She sighed.

Ally needed to get out.

She quickly changed into an outfit, not really caring how it looked. Her hair was in tangles but she couldn't find it in her to care. She dialled up Dez's number as she grabbed what she intended to bring and headed out of her dorm.

She was going to ditch her classes today.

"Hello?"

"Dez? It's Ally."

"I know, that's what my caller ID said."

Ally snorted. "Can you do me a favour?"

Dez didn't miss a beat. "Anything." There was a pause and then, "Except, you know, murder, illegal smuggling, treason, burning anything, anything that might kill me—"

"I just need you to get my Marine Bio assignment in," she said, cutting him off.

The line was silent. "Oh."

"What do you mean 'Oh'?" Ally asked, frowning. "Can you do it, or not?"

"Of course I can," Dez snipped. "I was just a little disappointed. I thought I was gonna have to like go all James Bond or hack into the Pentagon or something. Some _Mission Impossible_ shit."

"So you're disappointed you're not committing a felony?"

The line was silent again. And then a grunt. "Just slip the project under my door or something, I'm out right now."

"Gotcha."

"See ya," Dez said. He didn't ask anymore questions.

"See ya," she echoed. Ally turned her phone off and set towards Dez's dorm. It was on the other end of the campus. She would have to stop by and hand in her English assignment first.

Ally trudged through the grass. She made it into the first building, handing in her assignment to the professor who didn't ask questions about why she was handing in her assignment early.

Then, she made her way to Dez's dorm. It was in the same building as Austin's dorm and she suddenly felt a little dizzy. She steadied herself as she crouched down to slip the stapled essay under his door.

There. Her tasks were done.

Ally set off campus. She sighed at the ever present thought of having a goddamn car.

She let her thoughts run. It'd been so long since she wasn't worrying about anything while on a walk. She remembered the way back to campus now. She had her phone, her purse, money in case she needed a cab. She was all set.

Ally sighed. It was early in the morning, the sun just teetering on the edge of the distant horizon. She was tired, but felt the early morning doing some good for her system. She stretched her arms and legs as she walked, swinging them to get her blood circulating.

She felt rebellious even though she handed in her schoolwork. Here she was, walking down the streets of Miami, ditching her money's worth of classes. She felt young and free again. Bold and daring. She laughed out at the thought.

The last time she felt bold and daring she nearly got a tramp stamp.

Ally laughed even more at the thought.

Ah, what it was like to be 17 again.

Ally sighed, still not content with herself. She was bored. The routine she was falling into wasn't satisfying her. It left room for her thoughts now, and she didn't like that. She needed to busy herself. But the schoolwork was boring, her friends were getting predictable and she was slowing losing against the battle with her old self.

Ever since that stupid formal night, that was.

The night everyone regrets everything.

Ally sighed, figuring Trish was right. She regretted everything. Well, mostly everything. She regretted drinking, smoking, _blacking out_. What she didn't regret was laughing, square dancing and eating those chicken wings. But still, a majority of her thoughts of that night were consumed by the things she regretted the most.

And the gossip was still flowing from mouth to ear.

 _Johnson and Uriah were kissing behind the Chevy._

 _Juliet and Harold got caught smoking crack on campus._

However, that wasn't the only gossip. The recent Halloween party gossip was slowing being woven into the steady stream of news. Ally was glad she didn't attend that party. From what she's heard, it was even worse than the Fall Formal in terms of well, everything.

Kira told her the Halloween party was hosted by one of the students who's supposedly been 'studying' at UM for at least a decade. Ally didn't believe that. She's seen the kid. He looked no older than her. Sure he had a house and all but who could believe he's been studying for years?

 _I heard Willis fell off the balcony and split his head. He's been in the hospital with a coma._

 _Alice and Arnold didn't show up. I heard they got hitched._

 _Apparently, Austin had four girls in a hot tub._

 _Did you hear? Chuck nearly got arrested just for offering a beer to an officer._

She was startled out of her thoughts when her phone buzzed in her purse. Ally flipped the top off her purse, expecting something big.

 _Incoming call from Dallas._

She sighed, ignoring the call.

It felt shorter, but as Ally eyed the time on her phone, she found out that it was already 10:37am. She should've been halfway through an English class at this point on the Wednesday.

She thought about English. What would she do with an English major? She always said to herself she would become a teacher or a professor or something. But that would mean years and years of English class. Currently, she couldn't even stand a single class, let alone years worth of English.

Also, Austin Moon was in her English class this term.

Thank the heavens the term was almost over.

As Ally thought about the two, Austin and English class together, all she could see was him at his seat, snoring over the lecture. She wondered how he was even scraping by. If he wasn't sleeping during class, he wasn't even _in_ class. She thought back to the time where she could skip a class without feeling guilty.

Unlike right now.

Ally sighed, walking aimlessly around the streets. She had no purpose today, feeling empty. She tried so hard to push the lonely feeling away, but it had always been with her. It was worse in New York, but maybe she'd been sugar coating it so much she couldn't see that she really was just as lonely in Miami.

 _This was a mistake,_ she thought to herself. _I should have just stayed in bed today._

She was surprised to find herself relatively closer to campus than the last time she wandered off. Ally was about to round the corner to the front of campus, trying to blend in like another student coming for an afternoon class when a car rolled by.

A Chrysler, to be exact.

"Damn," a voice suddenly blared in her ear. Ally turned sharply to the left where the road was. Austin was leaning out the window and right in her face. She was a few inches away from his smirk.

Ally jerked back.

"I haven't seen your pretty face all day," he said, his voice slurred. Ally frowned at him, wondering what was in his system this time. Surely he understood that driving under the influence would only get him killed?

And then she thought, _why do I care again?_

 _Because crashing that car would be a waste._

"I've been," Ally frowned as he inched closer, his eyes roaming her face, her cheek, her chin, her lips. Ally recoiled backwards slowly. "Out," she finished.

Austin stared back at her, his eyes tipped towards her face. She sighed then, crossing her arms over her chest. She took in his appearance. He had a baseball cap rammed over his wild hair, taming it from eyesight. He was wearing a blue and green button up that looked huge, even on someone like him. The top few buttons were undone and as Ally looked closer, she realized the rest were all in the wrong button holes. "What do you need, Austin?"

Austin smirked, letting an arm hang from his window. She spied the cigarette between his index fingers. "Just wanted to ask if you wanted to accompany me on a drive through the city."

"What makes you think I'd like that?" She asked, sarcastically. The question surprised her yet it didn't. Ally stood her ground, trying to look amused.

"I never said you had to like it. Can't a lonely boy want some company?" His lip jutted out in a pout, his eyes widening. She had never seen someone look so innocent in her life. Even she couldn't perfect the pout.

"Find some company elsewhere."

Instead of retorting he asked, "You missed English today?"

Ally blinked at him. "I'm surprised you were even _in_ English today."

Austin let out a chuckle, throwing his head back. Ally stared at his neck, the usual bandage gone. In its place was a dark purple bruise. Ally rolled her eyes. The boy was using a bandage to cover a hickey? She glanced at his chin where another one was present. A hickey, that is, not a bandage.

"I wasn't. I thought you'd know better," he waggled the cigarette at her. He placed it between his lips and took a puff. "I heard someone saying you ditched English."

"Like I said," Ally sighed, shrugging. "Been out."

Austin chuckled again. "So you've told me." And then in a less provoking tone, "How's your nose?"

Ally was taken aback by the question. She hadn't expected him to prod at her nose. She glanced at him. No emotions showed on his face. The bruise was only visible for a few days but it didn't bother her too much. She kept touching it sometimes and wincing. "It's fine."

Austin seemed to let out a breath he'd been holding, his face lifting slightly. _But isn't that what smokers do? Let out a breath?_ "Great."

"Are we done here?" Ally asked. "Because I've got stuff to do."

"Alright, alright, princess," Austin said. He looked like he was about to floor the gas pedal when he looked back at her. He gave her a smirk. "The offer is still up on the table for grabs you know."

Ally cocked an eyebrow at him.

He tipped his two index fingers holding the cigarette at her out from his head like a salute, grinning. "You know where to find me." With that, the car's engine hissed, wheels creating friction on the pavement. He gunned down the street. Austin's Chrysler disappeared down the road, nearly running into another car pulling into UM's parking lot as he turned the corner.

Ally let out a breath.

Her first thought was, _his teeth are too nice to be ruined by smoking._

And then she thought, _fuck._

Ally trekked back to her dorm. She threw her things on her bed. It was 2:36pm.

Ally plugged her phone into its charger and fell back on the bed, not bothering to change her clothes. She yawned. She woke up early today and it was only right if she had a little nap.

She dozed off with an arm over her eyes.

* * *

Ally had a dream she was a princess in a castle made completely out of gold. It was perched atop a hill

Everything was fine and dandy. She was the ruler of her kingdom, demanding this and that. Her castle kept her safe. It was a nice castle, but suddenly, it was set on fire by a demonic red dragon. She watched in horror as her beloved castle burned into a pool of melted gold, cascading down the hillside like a waterfall. The melted gold sparkled and shimmered in the dying light. Ally watched the pools of melted gold.

The colour was familiar.

* * *

Ally was jolted awake by the sound of her phone ringing. Her eyes still crusted with sleep, Ally blinked awake. She reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her phone.

Ally didn't look at who the call was from. "Hello?"

"Ally."

"Hey Trish, what's up?" She yawned.

Trish snickered on the other end of the line. "Sorry, Kira just said something funny. What'd you say?"

Ally sighed. "What's up?" She repeated, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Winter Formal's coming up," the Latina said on the other end of the line. Ally's eyes widened.

"Already? We just had the goddamn Fall Formal."

"Winter one isn't as exciting. It's like, right before exams."

"You call that 'coming up'?"

Trish just snorted. "Also, we have like, Christmas and New Years and stuff so it's not that exciting after all," Trish said. "But still."

Ally nodded. "Alright, I'm up. Any hidden themes? Let me guess, ballroom dancing?"

Trish laughed. "Nah. Just another get-together for the society."

"Cool," Ally said. Then after a heartbeat she couldn't resist adding, "Am I gonna regret anything this time?"

"Girl, believe it."

Ally chuckled lightly even though she was pretty bitter that she actually _did_ regret the Fall Formal.

After another pregnant pause Trish said, "Wanna hang at my dorm? Kira's here."

Ally nodded even though Trish couldn't see her. "I'll be over in five. Just gotta sort a few things in my dorm."

"See you, then."

Ally tapped her phone off. Truth be told, she didn't need to sort anything. She just needed a little time alone even though she spent the whole afternoon wander the streets. She sighed, getting up off her bed and headed out her dorm. Her bones ached.

She sprinted the way down the hall into Trish's dorm. She knocked once and the door flung open. Kira smiled at her, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of mid-calf jeans. "Hey, Ally."

"Hey, Kira," the brunette replied curtly. She stepped into the room as Kira let her in. Trish was by the foot of her bed, her roommate nowhere in sight.

"Ally."

"Trish."

"What's up?" Kira interjected. "Dez said you missed Marine Bio."

Ally winced, rubbing her nose by habit since she got hit by the football. "Ah. I just needed a day off for some air and to clear my head."

"Understandable," Trish said. "At least you handed in your assignments. And Dez recorded the Marine Bio lecture for you."

"He did?"

"Well, he recorded it for himself but I'm sure you can pry it out of his hands."

Ally laughed. "I'll be sure ask him."

"If not, I know this spot on his neck where if you squeeze just hard enough he—"

"So, what have you guys been up to?" Ally asked, cutting Trish off. Kira shrugged waving her hand dismissively.

"School," she sighed. Kira looked at Trish and prompted her to speak.

"I'm going to do some volunteering tomorrow," Trish said. Then she shook her head. "Piper bailed on me so I'm gonna be a hand short tomorrow with the seniors."

"Sorry I can't help," Kira said. "I've got classes all day, and then I'm crashing Trent's football game."

Ally frowned, an idea coming to mind. "Maybe I can help you with the seniors. I'm free after nine thirty-ish tomorrow."

Trish nodded her head. "Perfect."

"Cool," Ally replied.

There was an awkward tension in the air and Ally couldn't figure out why. She frowned at her friends who shuffled on the carpet, trying to get comfortable. They were all sitting on it yet they all seemed to have their heads in the clouds.

Kira was on her phone as Trish stared out the window. Ally was looking at them. Then, she looked out the window, startled to find that it was dark out now. It was probably eight o'clock in the evening. She must have dozed off for quite a long time.

And then Kira said, "So have you heard?"

Trish turned back towards her friend. "What?"

"Piper said she and Austin had a conversation the other day."

Ally looked at Kira. "Really?" She wasn't sure what surprised her more. Piper physically having a conversation with Austin or that the blond boy could get through a conversation with Piper. Piper was, after all, stone-hearted and about as funny sober as a leaf. And the way she reacted around Austin? It was as if she was allergic to the boy.

"Yeah. Piper didn't say much but she said it was an 'okay conversation,'" Kira said, making air quotes to directing quote Piper.

"Interesting," Ally muttered. Trish was shaking her head.

"What is Piper thinking? She's just going to get her heartbroken again. It was bad enough he dumped her like that but—"

"But what?" Ally asked.

Trish continued, "But like, she's always liked him. Even in high school."

Ally blinked. "Woah. You guys knew Austin in high school?"

"Just Dez and Piper," Kira said. "We were friends but we went to different schools," she said, speaking for both her and Trish.

"All I know is that Piper is gonna end up with another broken heart. Heck, her heart hasn't even pieced back together yet," Trish sighed dramatically, like the Drama major she was.

Ally sighed. She's been here long enough to understand just how manipulative Austin could be. She just hoped Piper could see that, too. If Ally were Piper she'd be packing her bags to hop on the next train to Texas right this instant. Cozy up in a nice city like Houston or Cactus.

Or Dallas.

Ally shook her head. Where'd that come from?

"But anyway, apparently Austin's with this exotic foreign girl right now," Kira said, rolling her eyes. "Elle told me she had dark hair and like, the longest legs ever."

"What a sleaze," Trish muttered.

Kira nodded her head. "And apparently—" Kira never finished that sentence because her phone _brrring_ ed in her lap. The dark-haired girl frowned, picking up her phone in a manicured hand. She glanced quickly at the screen.

"And apparently what?" Trish asked.

Kira looked up from her phone, her face blank. "And apparently Austin just got arrested."

At first Ally wasn't sure she heard Kira right. And then," What?"

"Who texted you that?" Trish mused, raising a questioning eyebrow.

Kira bit her lip. "It's not confirmed but apparently—"

"'Apparently,'" Trish nudged Ally, mocking Kira.

Kira glared at Trish. " _Apparently_ —"

"Coincidentally," Ally offered.

"Guys!" Kira snapped. "I'm trying to tell you some info here!"

Trish and Ally snickered.

"Apparently Jace and Austin were drag racing through the city. Jace bailed before they reached the end and Austin took the entire blame when it blew over."

"Holy," Trish exclaimed.

"Bullshit," Ally muttered. "Everyone knows drag racing takes two people. You can't take the blame if you're a single racer."

Trish blinked at Ally. "You sure know a lot of about drag racing." Ally thought about that. She hadn't participated in a drag race ever, but she had been rooting for a driver a few times. She remembered those nights, laughing and screaming, wearing an oversized jacket to keep out the cold. And then when he won, getting kissed on the tip of her frosted pink nose.

Ally just shook her head, imagining Austin getting slammed against the police car with his hands cuffed behind his back. She shivered.

"You guys seem calm," Kira told them.

Ally shrugged but Trish rolled her eyes. "I feel like this isn't the first time he got arrested," Trish muttered. "Remember Walmart?"

Kira gained a look of recognition. "How could I forget?"

"Walmart?" Ally asked, wrinkling her nose. "Like the shop that's literally down the street?"

Trish shook her head. "Piper was dating Austin last year. She was a key witness."

"For what?"

Trish looked at Kira who blinked. Kira shook her head. "You tell her. You already started."

Trish sighed. "Piper and Austin were on their way back from a midnight movie. She said he told her that he needed to pick up something from Walmart. Piper said he left the keys in the car, which she found weird."

Ally frowned.

"Anyway, Piper said she was waiting for a while until she heard the sound of the department store's alarms. By that time Austin was back in the car, throwing things into the back seat. But when they pulled off onto the road, a patrol car was hollering at him to pull over."

"Holy," Ally muttered. "So he's a thief?"

Trish shrugged. "That's what they said the next day. Coincidentally, two police officers were injured too."

Ally gasped. There were too many plot holes in that story. She bit her lip. "What'd he steal anyway? Did Piper tell you?"

"Apparently it was Tylenol and a bunch of medical supplies," Trish shrugged. "At least that's what Piper said."

Medical supplies. She thought back to the cool cloth and ice pack he had back in his dorm. Were those stolen too? Is that why he had a supply of caretaking things? She frowned at the thought.

How can the person who so carefully threaded his fingers in her hair by accident while tending to her wound also be the person who injured two officers and stole things from a pharmacy? Suddenly, the hero was now the confusing villain. It was the worst plot twist ever.

What kind of goddamn fairy tale was this?

"Weird," Ally decided to say after a while.

"Not weird," Trish said, sighing. "Dangerous."

* * *

 **Yeheheheh. Lots of stuff going on. Everything is written for a reason though, so you'll soon find out.. what happened. :)**

 **The story is progressing along. Looks like Ally is getting bored of her new lifestyle. And what's this? What's this about Austin hurting two police officers? aND WHAT WAS THAT DREAM ABOUT ALLY?**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	9. alone together

**HELLo and sorry for the long wait! Don't worry though, I'm bACK! School's been ugly. Life's been ehhh. Speaking of which, those last two sentences might actually relate to how this chapter is going to sound! Wow! Foreshadowingggg! Also, I didn't even properly edit this chapter so ignore any ugly mistakes.**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything.**

* * *

 _i don't know where you're going but do you got room for one more troubled soul?_

* * *

The melted gold, it haunted her.

She had another dream about it when she finally fell asleep that Wednesday night.

It started off the same as her other dream; a princess in a golden castle on a hill. But instead of a wicked red dragon burning the place, it took her on a ride over the kingdom, her kingdom. She found out the dragon was actually a very gentle creature. It was only misunderstood.

When the creature let her down back in her golden castle, she turned around and thanked it, staring into its eyes.

They were brown.

* * *

Ally woke up to the sound of rain _pitter-patter_ ing against her window.

She grumbled at the sight, rubbing her eyes as she turned to look out her window. She was supposed to help Trish at the senior home today. What a shame that it was going to be a wet, gloomy day. She was looking forward to some sunshine after slumbering in the darkness of her dreams.

Ally followed her morning routine; brushing her teeth, washing her face, doing her makeup. She was back in her dorm, changing into her outfit of light jeans and a simple blouse. The brunette was slipping on her shoes when a knock at her dorm door startled her.

Confused, Ally opened the door. She wasn't expecting anyone over. Especially at 7:45am, too.

She peered through the little crack in the door. "Hello?"

Ally couldn't see anyone with the sliver of sight she gave herself, so she opened the door wider. Still, no one was in sight. She fully opened the door, expecting it to smack into someone hiding behind it. Ally swung the door with full force.

There was no one behind her door.

Frowning, Ally decided she just got ding dong ditched. She sighed, closing the door. She grabbed her book bag and headed out her dorm to her only Thursday class, Political Science.

The trek was still tiresome even though she's done it for more than a month now and should have gotten used to it by now. Still, it was brutal, especially in the rain. She hung under the parts of building roofs that jutted out, trying her best not to get wet. She had a raincoat, but fought against her better judgement and left her dorm in a gray hoodie instead.

Class was boring and tiresome, as per usual. Ally decided to record this lecture since she was really feeling out of it lately. She didn't want to miss anything even though her mind wandered elsewhere while her body was physically in the learning room.

She couldn't stop thinking about the image of Austin getting arrested.

Was he still being questioned right now? Did his friend Jace bail him out? What about his parents? Drag racing? Sure it was fun to watch, but she couldn't imagine risking her life in trying to compete in one. And hadn't he been smoking earlier in the day? How could he not have crashed that Chrysler with that tobacco mugging up his brain?

Also, why did she care?

Ally shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts somewhere else. She considered listening to the lecture but mentally laughed at the thought. _Funny._

She was hungry, but Trish promised they'd eat before heading out to the retirement home. She actually couldn't wait. She needed to get her community service hours in soon and spending time with Trish was also a big bonus. Both of them never ran out of things to talk about.

Ally got out of class at 9:15am, fifteen minutes before she were to meet Trish by their dorms.

As Ally walked back to her residential building, she frowned. Other than Trish, she really didn't know who lived in her building let alone her tiny hallway. Sure she knew Trish's roommate Margo but other than that spunky girl, she was completely in the dark about who she shared her living space with.

She sighed.

Ally entered her dorm and threw her book bag on the ground in a certain manner. She grabbed her raincoat and exited her dorm, not bringing anything else with her other than her essentials.

"Hey, Ally!" Trish hollered from around the corner. She perked up once Trish was in sight. Ally was leaning against her own dorm door, after finishing putting her books away.

"Trish," she smiled.

The Latina disappeared in her dorm for two seconds before reappearing. "Ready to go?"

"Yup."

After they had a hearty breakfast at McDonalds, Ally and Trish made their way to the seniors home. They had to bus there because neither girl owned a car. Usually this would bug Ally, but if she had Trish by her side, she didn't mind that much. The two chatted about how much of a bummer the sudden gloomy weather was. It put such a damper on the mood.

The retirement home was a twenty minute bus ride from campus. As soon as the two girls checked in with the reception that they were the scheduled volunteers, Ally began to feel relaxed.

She now had something to occupy her thoughts on.

"Have fun, girls," the receptionist said.

"We will," Trish answered for the both of them.

Old people were quite the mess, Ally thought as the two girls walked in the middle of all of them. Some were sitting in their wheelchairs or on the couch, staring at a blank spot on the wall. Some were snoring in their place, mouths open, dentures threatening to fall out.

Ally really didn't have anything against seniors. In fact, she couldn't wait to retire and spend her days wondering when death would descend on her.

Actually, that sounded a little morbid right now.

Especially since she was actually surrounded by seniors.

"So, what are we doing first?" Ally asked Trish. She had never volunteered at a retirement home before.

Trish straightened from where she was talking to a knitting grandma. "First, we get friendly with these oldies and see how we can help them."

"Sounds great. I love getting friendly," Ally said sarcastically monotonous. When Trish gave her a worried glance the girl broke out into a smile. Ally nudged Trish with her elbow. "I'm just messin' with ya, Trish. I love old hags."

Trish opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a voice of a dinosaur. "Us old hags have hearing aids, you know?"

Ally and Trish both turned around to a senior sitting on the fraying green couch with his walking cane. He eyed the girls, giving them a glacial glare. An easy smile rested on his lip that was covered by a gray moustache. Ally laughed.

"No offence."

"None taken."

Ally walked over to the old man. "Ally," she said, holding out her hand.

"Gary," the man replied, shaking her hand. He looked like he was in his mid-seventies. He wore an argyle sweater vest over a sweater. Ally saw the round, smudged spectacles on his face.

"So, what can I do for you today, Gary?"

"What are you, my caretaker?" He retorted. For a hag, he sure had a lot of spunk and fire left in him.

Ally laughed. "Technically."

Gary snorted. "You young'uns ought to know when to get your head out of your egos."

She laughed again. Ally could definitely use that line on certain people. "Tell me about it."

Gary gave her a pointed look as she sat down beside him. Trish was keeping a group of knitting grandmas company. Ally said hello to the other people on the couch. She noticed a late-sixties woman reading a book in her wheelchair at the other end of the couch. A couple was chatting quietly, bickering about TV show that was being broadcasted.

The seniors gave her a sort of peace in her life.

Gary just laughed. "You know, I used to be a youngster like yourself."

 _A few decades ago?_ Ally held her tongue. "Yeah? And now you're in a retirement home."

"Only because my grandkids insisted," Gary shook his head. He stroked his moustache. "Otherwise, I would've been travelling around the world on the boat I own."

Ally gasped. "You have a boat?"

Gary winked at her under his glasses. "I have three."

"You're a hag and a brag," she muttered. Gary laughed and Ally followed in suit. Gary was a cool grandpa. She would have asked him about his grandkids but Gary shooed her off, telling her to go to talk to the other lonely residents of the home. Ally bided him a farewell.

Ally collided with Trish on her way to another bunch of seniors. Ally figured 'volunteering at a seniors home' really meant talking to them because they were lonely. She didn't mind that task at all. She was actually enjoying herself here. "How you doing, Ally?"

"Fine. Talked to some old dude with three boats."

"Amazing. I found some ladies who taught me how to knit a sweater."

Ally snorted. "Looks like we're doing good here."

The two girls made a few more rounds, talking to all of the occupants of the house about their lives and whatever else. Ally found another grandpa who told her a story about his missing finger. He lost it in an accident while participating in a grand prix of sorts with motorbikes. It was interesting. Though she thought the guy was exaggerating a little, it was nice to see him talk about the experience.

Ally talked to another mid-sixties woman who showed her a picture album she had. It dated back with some black and white photos and other early coloured photos. Ally loved looking at them, as the woman— her name was also, coincidentally, Ally— explained a story behind each one. Each story was so detailed, it was if Ally had written it out and had it memorized.

This went on for a bit, Ally sitting down and talking to someone or a group. It was fun and she was getting volunteer hours for it as well.

Around lunch time, while the seniors were getting served food, Ally and Trish crashed down together on an empty couch. "Man, I'm tired," Ally groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Tell me about it," Trish replied. "These seniors don't seem to stop talking."

Ally considered this. "I guess they've had no one to talk to but themselves for a while and everything just, you know," she made a hand gesture, "comes out when someone asks."

Trish shook her head. "Was that supposed to be insightful or something?"

"Maybe."

"You've been spending too much time with Dez."

Ally rolled her eyes and nudged Trish. "Look who's talking."

Trish just glared at her.

A few seniors seated themselves on the couch next to the two girls. They both scooted over and made room for the elders. "So, what's going on with you and Dez anyway?"

Trish blinked. "What do you mean? Nothing ever goes on between me and Dez except the things I throw at his head."

Ally snorted. "You know, if I didn't know you guys, I'd say you both looked like a—"

"Excuse me," a frail voice interrupted Ally. Ally and Trish both turned to look at the woman sitting beside them. They waited for the elder to go on. "I couldn't help but notice..."

"Yes?" Ally asked, quizzically.

The woman stopped, frowning. She looked in like she was in her seventies, with a greying fringe haircut tied back into a bun. She wore a sweater and some cargo pants. She was a petite woman with stunning brown eyes and a memorable face. She looked like one of those woman who baked gingerbread cookies for bake sales.

"Have we met before?"

Ally frowned at her. When she scanned her face, she couldn't match the woman to any name. "I'm sorry, I don't think so."

The woman frowned, mirroring Ally. "Oh dear..." She trailed off. And then, "No, I'm quite positive we've met before." The woman's forehead wrinkled. "What's your name?"

"I'm Ally," she replied. Trish had gone to go help she seniors find the TV remote.

"Ally," the woman repeated. "Ally, Ally, Ally..." And then, the woman's brown eyes lit up. "Ally! Oh, yes. I remember you!"

Ally blinked. She was utterly confused now. Surely she would remember a woman with such nice brown eyes? "You do?"

"Yes, of course." The woman gave her a smile and scooted closer. "I don't blame you for not remembering me. We've only met once or twice and it has been a while."

"We have?" Ally asked, still confused.

The woman nodded, smiling easily at the brunette. "Mrs. Taylor."

Suddenly, Ally couldn't focus on anything except the tiny, petite woman in front of her. The background blurred into swirling, moving shapes in her vision. The noise faded as if he head had been dunked underwater. Her heart raced picked up, pounding in her chest. Her hands grew clammy. She wiped them on her jeans out of habit.

Ally couldn't breathe. "M-Mrs. Taylor," she stuttered, putting a hand to her chest to stop her heart from exploding. "O-of course! How-how could I forget?"

Mrs. Taylor.

Dallas' grandmother.

The woman laughed, taking her hands in her own. "What are you doing in Miami? How is your mother? How is my sweet Dallas? Do you two still have that Friday night ritual where—"

Ally immediately pulled her sweaty hands back. Shock registered on Mrs. Taylor's face. "I'm sorry, I need to use the bathroom. Excuse me."

"Oh, no worries, dear," Mrs. Taylor called as she briskly made her way to the bathroom.

Ally raced into the bathroom, locking the door and breathing heavily. She couldn't believe fate lead her into running into her past _yet again._ She was a thousand goddamn miles away. Why must fate do this?

Why was her luck so fucking rotten?

Ally splashed some cold water onto her face. She tried to calm her rapid breathing and heartbeat, but she couldn't do it. Memories flashed in her mind. Ally placed her hands on her head. _Stop it, stop it, stop it!_

It was no use. She closed her eyes, trying her hardest to block out the memories.

Dallas introduced Ally to his family that year. She was supposed to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone was seated around the table with Grandma Taylor at the head. Grandpa Taylor was long gone; probably owned a farm or something in heaven at this point.

She remembered it vividly. The dinner, the smiles, the family. Everything was so wonderful. Grandma Taylor was so wonderful.

So why was her grandson such a fucking dick?

Her grandson. Dallas.

Ally sighed, remembering that Thanksgiving. It was one of the best she had in a long time. She couldn't remember a night more perfect than that one. She remembered how she and Dallas ditched the family then and snuck into some 18+ movie. They were both only 17 at the time, barely teetering on the edge of 18 yet they somehow wound up in the middle of that livid movie theatre.

And then after, when they snuck in a few beers and Dallas was driving them back, Ally couldn't help but feeling so free. Dallas did more kissing than actual driving, but she found it in her heart to forgive him that night.

Seeing Mrs. Taylor again triggered the many memories she kept behind a barrier. She had locked them away, banished them into the depths of hell yet here they were, back in her mind, swarming her mind. She was being attacked, for god's fucking sake.

Ally sunk down onto the bathroom floor. She placed her hands over her eyes.

She couldn't stop thinking about Dallas.

His hair, his eyes, his touch, his- _him_. She couldn't stop now. She tried so hard to push the memories away, the painful, awful memories that were gnawing at her. She thought she had done a good job at holding her fucking emotions at bay. She was two months away from her past life. Why must it be back now? She was doing so fucking well.

They flashed behind her closed eyelids. The nights, the promises, the laughs, the secrets. Everything was all too much. It was coming back too fast, to vividly. She was choking on her own brain.

Ally gasped as she let her tears fall. She _missed_ him, goddamn it. She missed him so much. It clutched at her heart, just to think about him like this, in her state of neediness. However, deep down she knew.

He didn't miss her.

Not a chance.

Those phone calls? Half-hearted apologies waited on the other end. The texts? Some bullshit excuse to stop the damn boy from feeling guilty.

That made her cry even harder. She kept the sobbing to a minimum, trying to not let it slip through her lips. A silent crier; so no one would ever know.

 _Fuck you, Dallas. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!_

A knock on the bathroom door startled her. "Is anyone in there?" An elderly woman's voice asked. Ally forgot where she was for a second. She jumped back onto her feet and splashed cold water onto her face. She dabbed her eyes gently to stop them from swelling.

"Sorry," she said easily as she opened the door. Ally plastered a smile on her face.

The elderly woman laughed. "No worries, dear."

She sighed as she walked out of the washrooms. Her head felt too heavy on her shoulders and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep her life away.

"Hey, Ally!" Trish called as she approached. "Where were you?"

"Washroom," she replied, adding a little laugh. "Got caught up with all the fancy soaps in there."

Trish rolled her eyes. "Come on, we still got lots of people to talk to about knitting." She looped her arm through Ally's and led them back to the central area of the retirement home.

For now, her sleep would have to wait.

* * *

Friday.

She thought she could get some sleep that night, but her brain just wouldn't turn off. Her thoughts streamed from every which way, leaving her with no room to even remember what goddamn day it was.

When she and Trish were walking back to campus, Ally had made an excuse that she needed to meet up with someone somewhere. Trish, oddly enough, didn't ask questions on that _someone_ and _somewhere._

Truth be told, she went out and bought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

She already burned through three cigars last night.

Ally sighed as she got up out of bed in the morning. She couldn't remember when she fell asleep, only that it was sometime past four in the morning and that when she fell into a dreaming state, she dreamt of him.

 _Him._

She dragged herself out of her bed, stumbling when the sheets caught between her legs. Ally let herself go down, feeling hopelessly tired.

She glanced around her room. Sometimes she was glad she didn't have a roommate. Ally reached under her bed, feeling for the black trash bag that contained her bottles of pills and other things. Honestly, _OFF LIMITS_ was a complete joke at this point. She already broke into it during the Fall Formal.

She looked at them all carefully. She knew by heart the side effects of each one. Sure, she'd already given into temptation by smoking again, but... She wasn't quite sure she wanted to feel all _bleugh_ yet and start feeling like a cloud.

So she took two Advils to give her a sense of peace in her sudden chaotic head.

Ally sighed as she began another day. She didn't have any classes today, homework was in check, nothing to do. Another day wasted, falling victim to nothingness.

She tried her hardest not to think about Dallas, but it was no use. There was one particular memory that kept coming up.

It was junior year and she and Dallas had just began to date. Sure, they were practically inseparable during sophomore year as well but they decided to make it official that year. It was Halloween night. They went trick-or-treating with their friends but ultimately decided to ditch them and crashed some party that Dallas knew about.

By this point, Ally had never been to a party as wild as that one. There were older guys and girls strutting in vulgar costumes, people smoking and making out on couches, people snorting things up their painted noses.

That night, this older guy who had like, four beers, sat down beside her on the couch. He began talking to her, with his gross breath and his ugly slur and then tried to advance towards her with his hand. She had never been around many drunks in her life despite hanging with Dallas for the last year.

Dallas was her saviour.

It was a blur, after that. She only remembered how it happened, not what happened next. But she remembered feeling a great sense of gratitude towards Dallas, a sort of admiration as well, even more so than before. He wasn't just this attractive party boy, no. He had a softer side as well. A caring side he only showed her.

She wished she never fell victim to him.

Ally groaned, walking outside. She had been wandering around campus aimlessly. She didn't even stop for breakfast before finding the only unrestricted smoking area near the parking lot. She lit a cigarette.

Ah, the burn was a good feeling in her throat.

Ally stood there for a few more minutes, burning out her cigarette before squishing it under her shoe, cutting out the fire. She felt a little dazed.

She couldn't get her mind off that fucking boy.

She was actually getting so stressed about this. Why couldn't she stop thinking about Dallas? He was ancient fucking history. She shouldn't have to be lingering on the thought of him, how he used to smile, how he used to touch her. Ally left New York for a reason.

So why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

Her phone ringing snapped her back to reality.

 _Incoming call from Dallas._

Her breathing hitched. He still called her for some odd reason. Ally was tempted to accept the call. It would be so easy to accept the call, hear his voice, tell him how much she missed him.

It rung in her hand, vibrating.

She only had a few seconds left before it went to her voicemail.

Ally hesitated as she looked at it. She was a thumb swipe away from hearing his voice again after such a long time. Ally stared at it for a few more moments.

Her phone stopped vibrating and she took a sharp breath.

 _1 missed call._

She shoved her phone back in her pocket.

* * *

She forgot she had cocaine in her trash bag.

It was a Saturday night and she was feeling lonely as fuck. Ally had surprisingly finished all her schoolwork for the week and now had nothing to do. She tried browsing the internet for cars and jobs but found herself drawn to Dallas' social media pages at the same time.

She remembered how she tried to block him but ultimately decided against that.

And thank god for that. She wasted an hour scrolling through his recent and old pictures, catching up on his life that she left behind. It ultimately fucked her over but hey, at least she wasted some time. Wednesday was still days away and she couldn't wait for her fucking English class any longer.

Ally sighed. When she had left her dorm to go to the bathroom the few times that day she barely recognized herself in the mirror. Her hair was in tangles, her face was pale, her eyes stared back at her hollowly.

She was turning into her alter ego.

Ally couldn't get her mind off Dallas, no matter how hard she tried. She even tried watching a horror movie to scare the living shits out of her but then her brain reverted back to that scream fest Dallas brought her to one Halloween.

Everything was connected back to him for some odd reason. She couldn't escape.

 _Goddamn it, Grandma Taylor. Way to go fuck things up for me. No offence, though. Your chicken pot pies are killer._

It was a little past midnight and she was still up, her veins powered by nostalgia. She didn't want to sleep, but she didn't want to _not_ sleep either. Her mind was whirling, thoughts processing by the dozen a minute. She let out a frustrated groan.

Her brain was eating her alive.

Ally couldn't take it anymore. She dove under her bed to grab her black garbage bag. She ripped the piece of tape off, flinging it somewhere. Ally's hand closed around the plastic baggie filled with white powder. Even though she wore on the devil not to ever open this bag ever again, she did it.

Ally sighed as she finished the fine line she created with her student card. Finally, a useful way to use her ID.

It felt like she just stuffed spicy powder up her nose. Sparks of light flashed behind her eyes as she squeezed them shut, but after a few more seconds, there was only peace. She let out a content sigh, feeling more relaxed than she had ever been in a while.

She stayed on the ground of her dorm room for a few more moments, letting the drug process in her body. She let it wash over her.

Ally stuffed her contraband away and straightened up, feeling so much better than she had earlier. She even smiled at her room. "Man," she whispered out loud to herself. She wanted to do something. She needed to get her mind off Dallas and New York.

Time to do something impulsive.

Ally wiped her nose and made sure she was clean before walking out of her dorm with her phone and keys. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and jeans, nothing more, nothing less. She slipped on her sneakers and dashed out the building, her legs burning with a certain fire she hadn't felt in a while

The cool evening air enveloped her in it. It wasn't cold, but it was cool. It was a nice contrast to the heat of the day and more importantly, the heat in her mind.

Ally wracked her brain for the directions. Was it West or was it East? She couldn't quite remember. Granted, she was also partially blind when she walked there. She didn't even lead herself there. She sighed, hoping her better judgement would lead her the right way.

She headed towards the West dormitory building.

And now what? She didn't even know the dorm number. She sighed, walking backwards on the grass. She glanced at the midnight sky. She let her eyes roam the field. It looked familiar yet odd.

Bingo.

If she walked backwards, she could retrace her steps from that day.

She couldn't fathom how she came up with this, but it worked. And she walked backwards with her arms outstretched like a bird. She entered the West building and made her way down the corridors of winding hallways, still backwards.

If she were a smidge more sober she would have laughed her head off right now.

Ally found the dorm quite easily. Somehow, in her twisted way of thinking and finding it, she succeeded in pinpointing it.

Ally didn't even hesitate while she pounded her fist against the door, still standing sideways with her other arm outstretched. She realized how stupid it must have looked and resorted to crossing her arms over her chest.

At first, she didn't know what to make of Austin Moon— whether she wanted to slap him or kiss him. Slap him, for sure. He looked so smug, standing there in his doorway with his white t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms, hair all messy like he just rolled out of bed.

Come to think of it, he might have actually just gotten out of bed. It was, after all, past midnight.

He grinned once he saw her standing at his doorway. He opened his mouth for some grandeur greeting but she cut him off.

"How's about that drive through the city?"

* * *

 **Woooooooahhhhhhh! I'm sorry to leave it at this (because the next chapter is one of my favourites) but... yeah. :) Let's just say the next chapter gets... interesting.**

 **ALSO if you look at the rating of the story, something seems... different doesn't it? ;)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	10. drive

**LET ME JUST SAY RIGHT NOW I FUCKING LOVE THIS CHAPTER. It has everything I wanted to say down perfectly and AHHHH I'm so happy with this chapter! I hope you all like it as much as I do!**

 **Enjoy! I don't own anything.**

* * *

 _would it really kill you if we kissed?_

* * *

Austin was skeptical at first, the smirk falling from his face. "Come again?"

She bit her lip, trying hard not to fight against her choice of wanting to slap him rather than kiss him. His voice was pleasantly low and grumble-y, wrapping around her ear like a whisper of smoke in the cold night. Ally shook her head. "You. Me. And a drive through the city."

Austin's smirk returned to his face, more sly than before. "You finally came around huh, princess?" He closed the door for a second before returning, a gray jumper thrown over his white t-shirt. "I do have a few questions, but let's not dawdle." He shook his car keys in her face and closed the dorm door behind him.

Was it too late to snatch the keys out of his hand and steal his car?

Ally gave him the authority to lead her to his car. Ally frowned when they approached it. Was it just her, or did the Chrysler look even more beat up than the last time she saw it? Another scratch was added by the bumper of the car.

And then she remembered that he got arrested for drag racing.

She decided not to question it so much as she got in the car. Austin got in the driver's seat and set the car into ignition. She glanced at the time on the clock on the dash.

12:36am.

A sudden hit of curiosity washed over her. She didn't know if it was because it was late and her body was wired, or because she just hadn't talked to anyone in a few days and she was just itching for human interaction at this point. More so, interaction to get her mind off of things.

"So, how was your day?" She asked Austin. Her own voice surprised her. She sounded a little too enthusiastic. A little too chipper for past midnight.

Austin gave her a side glance as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Fine," he replied curtly. Then he narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you feeling alright, peaches?"

Ally was glancing out the window. She turned back towards him, giving him an easy grin. She saw his eyes widen at her sudden smile. "I've never been better," she told him. "Should've done this a long time ago," she muttered under her breath, referring to the coke she snorted a few minutes earlier.

Austin was still staring at her. There was something in his eyes she couldn't quite understand. When she turned to look at him, he quickly turned his eyes back on the road, swallowing. He ran a hand through his unruly hair. She frowned at his bruised knuckles.

 _Criminal._

They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Ally glanced at the luminous street lights. The city was breathtaking at night.

 _Speaking of breathtaking._ "You mind if I roll down the window?" She asked Austin. He cocked an eyebrow at her, looking skeptically at her, as if he couldn't believe what she was even saying. She didn't blame him. If she saw herself like this, she wouldn't believe it either.

"Be my guest."

Ally rolled down the window and lit a cigarette. She let the smoke fly behind the car as she left her hand outside the window. Ally took a puff and purred contently as she let the tobacco roll through her system.

"Jesus fucking Christ," she heard him mutter. Ally turned to look at him, but his hard eyes were turned to the road. She saw his jaw flex.

They drove in silence and Ally lost track of the turns and roads they were going down. She was surprised Austin wasn't driving her in circles. She counted four lefts, three rights, a single highway that took about five kilometres before there was even a single building in sight and so much more.

"So, where do you wanna go?" Austin asked her after a while. She had burned out two cigarettes by this point. They sat in his ash tray.

"Show me around Miami," she told him.

"My pleasure," he told her, some of his old suave nature coming back. He grinned at her as he looked over to his right, turning into a quieter street. Ally glanced back at the clock on the dash. Though the numbers on the dash were swimming in her vision, she understood that they've been driving for twenty minutes now.

Ally had never felt more alive in her entire life. The window was rolled all the way down and she stuck her entire head out of it, the wind caressing her hair. Ally smiled and closed her eyes, taking in the life of night. She opened her eyes and was met with bright street lights and the city life at midnight. Though there were less cars than usual, she never felt more in the middle of it all.

With her head still out the window, Ally got a glimpse of where Austin was headed. He was still on the highway, but she understood it perfectly.

He was showing her the lights.

Ally stared in awe at the building illuminated by the lights. Even though it was midnight, the buildings were lit up like the Fourth of July. It reflected off the water of the beach too, as she can see from the highway they were driving across.

"Beautiful," she breathed, her voice getting caught in the wind and blown away.

Apparently Austin heard because he said, "Of course."

Ally sat back down in her seat. "Are they always this bright?"

"Only on Saturdays," he laughed. Austin turned and gave her a quirky grin. "The real question is, are you always this high?"

Ally snorted— ironic really. "Isn't that a question you should be asking yourself?" She laughed at him. "But if you must know, I'm higher than a fucking cloud," she laughed. And then she turned out of the window and took a deep breath. "I'm higher than a fucking cloud!" She screamed out the window, letting her laugh die in the wind. She lit another cigarette.

"Either I'm dreaming or you're insane," Austin chuckled. He pulled off the highway and Ally was disappointed at the lost of the lights. It was dark in the car now.

"If anyone is insane, I'm pretty sure it would be you."

"That's flattering, princess."

"Please don't call me princess."

"Why's that?"

"Because a princess needs a prince and with my luck I'd find a frog."

Austin laughed, turning to look at her. She stared back at him, intrigued suddenly by the dark shadows that danced across his face. The lack of light made his face seem dark, a little sharper as well. She took in his appearance in the dark. He looked soft yet defined by angular edges at the same time. She wondered how whack her brain was by thinking this. She took another puff of her cigarette.

Austin smirked at her. She found herself studying his mouth. _Soft._ "I could be your prince charming."

"You're a frog."

"Aw, come on now. Frogs need a little love, too."

Ally leaned over to him. "So you admit you're a frog."

For an instant, the smirk lessened on his face. "I'm a lot of things," he said a little quietly.

She didn't pick up on the sudden temperature drop in his tone. "Speaking of which," she said, taking another puff. "How was jail? Enjoy being a criminal?" She bit her lip when it came out of her mouth. It sounded like a question in her mind but the way her mouth said it out loud, it was almost mocking— like she was trying to taunt him rather than ask him a simple question.

Austin turned to look at her. There was no smirk on his face, no expression she could read in his eyes. He looked _dangerous_ and she shivered. "A criminal?"

"I heard you got arrested."

"Yeah?" Austin laughed now, the mysterious and playful glint coming back to his dark brown eyes. "What else have they been saying about me?"

"Thievery?"

"Maybe."

"Damn," Ally replied, sitting back in her seat.

Maybe she imagined it but she heard him mutter, "You got that right," under his breath. And then, "So now what? You scared of a criminal, sweetheart?"

Ally turned back over to look at him. For an instant, she could see him as just that; a dangerous criminal. His messy blond hair and wild eyes on every front page of everything. Images of robbed banks and broken glass, murder mysteries, vandalism. _Notorious criminal Austin Moon wanted, dead or alive._

For some reason, that thought made her heart skip a few beats.

"A criminal who calls someone a sweetheart sounds extremely intimidating."

"I'm glad you think so," he said, satisfied. She huffed at him. Sometimes she just wanted to slap that satisfied smirk right off his face.

Ally sighed and glanced at his dashboard. CDs were messily scrawled out over the entire thing. His tiny snow globe was still in the same place, snow falling around the snowman as the car rattled down the street. She glanced at the radio.

"D'you mind?" She asked, already reaching to turn on the radio. Her tongue felt as heavy as her eyelids at this point.

There was a pause. "'Course," he mumbled. In her peripheral vision she saw his jaw clench as his eyes scanned the road. "Anytime."

She frowned at his answer. She got the okay, but what did _anytime_ mean? Ally didn't dwell on it too much as she turned on the radio. Some country station blasted right off the bat and she wrinkled her nose. Ally quickly changed the channel to find a more suitable station to listen to.

She found one playing some of the more recent and popular songs. She sat back, satisfied as Austin zoomed by another red light. She glanced out the rolled window as music blasted from the speakers. Austin turned the volume up.

"So, you wanna tell me what's on your mind?" Austin asked her. She glanced at him, finding comfort in the shadows that danced across his face.

"Not really."

"You'd never willingly go on a ride with me."

Ally snorted. "Maybe I've changed."

"Out of your clothes, maybe."

"Haha, very funny."

Austin tipped an invisible chauffer hat at her, winking. "Glad m'lady thinks so."

"I'm not anyone's lady," she retorted. Ally returned her attention to the rolled down window. She glanced at where they were; beachfront. The night sky reflecting off the water was truly a sight. Ally even saw some people making midnight sandcastles by the water.

"To your right is the beach," Austin said, playing tour guide. "Great place to hang out with friends. The beach looks great at midnight, people still surfing and whatnot." Ally nodded.

"And to your left—"

Ally turned her head.

She was met with Austin smirking at her, pointing to himself with his index finger. "—Is this pretty face right here."

Ally rolled her eyes. Austin grinned and turned back to the road. She couldn't help but glance at him from her suddenly blurring vision. He was still in his flannel pajama pants, the gray jumper loose around his arms. His feet were clad with undone Converse, his hair devilishly messy. Ally had the sudden impulsive urge to run her hand through his hair and tug on the wild knots. She wondered how his blond locks would feel between her fingers.

She shook her head dispelling her thoughts courtesy of the drug in her veins.

Ally let out a sigh. She was staring at the car in front of them before it turned into three cars. She blinked, rubbing her eyes. Still, her vision blurred and swam.

Other than the pop song blasting from the radio, they drove in silence.

Austin seemed wide awake. However, when she glanced over at him he seemed to be yawning. She wondered how long they've been driving for. She couldn't focus her eyes on the time on his dash. The blue numbers kept swirling and blurring.

"I never got to ask you how your day was," Austin said after a little while. His voice was choppy from the wind blowing in from both their open windows.

"Then ask me."

"How was your day, peaches?"

 _How was my day?_

Ally pondered on the question. Her day. Her day was spent moping over the fact that Dallas was a huge asshole yet she somehow missed him so much. She was miserable, lonely, tired and fed up with life. She had already broken a promise she made to herself by breaking into her trash bag. She didn't even feel guilty that she did it, which somehow made everything worse.

She couldn't understand why her mind wouldn't just shut off and leave her alone. She didn't want to think about Dallas, she didn't want to think about her old life back in New York. She was a new person now. Ally was a new person. Well, she was trying to be, anyway.

To sum up, _my day was fucking awful and I wish I never woke up._

Instead, she said, "It was alright."

Austin's mouth tugged downwards at the corners. He frowned at her, not seeming to believe her white lie. "Explain _alright_ to me."

Ally sighed, suddenly so tired. "Fine. Dandy. Okay. Could be better. Average."

"Could be better?"

"I could've found a better, less chatty driver."

Austin looked wounded. He recoiled sarcastically. "Ouch."

Ally bared her teeth at him. "Try me," she growled at him.

Austin chuckled. He was turning off the highway and back onto the road. "You sure are something, princess."

"I could say the same about you. At least you've cut down on trying to get into my pants."

Austin whistled, making a sharp left turn. Headlights flashed. "Speaking of," he said, "you want anything to eat? Drink? A donut? Some Mountain Dew?"

Ally watched as Austin turned into a small gas station. She wrinkled her nose at him. "Mountain Dew?"

Austin gave her a smirk as he parked the car. He ran a hand through his ruffled hair, tossing it up. "You know? Mountain Dew," he chuckled. "As in _mount and do_ me."

Ally gaped at him as he gave her a wink and hopped out of his car, heading into the small convenience store to grab whatever he was going to get. She shook her head at his retreating form decked out in flannel pajama pants.

 _As in mount and do me._

Ally snorted. _As if._

She waited for his return.

Ally couldn't help but glance through the window. A thought popped into her mind. What if he really was a criminal and he was actually going to steal something? Surely he knew gas stations were the worse places to commit a crime?

The brunette glanced down at her own hands that were now shaking. She couldn't remember why, but she suddenly felt the fire in her own veins. She lifted a shaky hand, inspecting what made it tick.

Ally vaguely remembered she had her phone in one of her pant pockets. She felt around for it before finding it right where she left it. Ally turned the screen on.

1:57am.

Austin opening the car door again startled her. Ally nearly dropped her phone. She quickly put it away as he ducked into his Chrysler.

"So," he said closing the door, "I've got chips, Coke—"

 _So do I,_ she thought with a small smirk.

"—Jellybeans— because who doesn't love jellybeans?— and whatever this is." Austin held up a bag to the light. It was a bag of pretzels.

"They're pretzels," she told him.

"Pretzels?" He looked at her, puzzled.

Ally couldn't believe he didn't know what pretzels were. "You know," she said, snatching the bag away from him. "Pretzels? Salty? Crunchy?"

Austin gave her a quizzical look.

"Did you even read the label?"

"I just grabbed whatever looked cool."

Ally sighed as she opened the bag. She held one in her hand and looked at him. Slowly, he looked at her and opened his mouth wide. She could nearly see all his teeth. Ally fed him the pretzel. She watched as he crunched down on it.

"For the record," the blond said, swallowing. He smirked at her. "You're very gullible."

Ally realized what he meant as he put the car into ignition. "Fuck you."

"That's the biggest honour anyone could ever achieve," Austin chuckled. "You should hop onto the trend."

Ally snorted, turning away from him to face the window. "No thank you. I make it a thing not to sleep with assholes."

She thought he was going to retort back but instead she heard him say, "Have you gotten any sleep lately?"

The question caught Ally off guard. So much that she answered honestly. "Not really."

This caught Austin off guard. He spoke in a low tone, laced with what she thought was concern. "Really? What's on your mind, sweetheart?"

Ally glared at him, a little mad he was trying to coax the answer out from her. She just shook her head, turning away from him once again. She heard Austin turn the radio up even more. Her ears were ringing, but if it meant she didn't need to talk to him again, so be it.

Her vision was blurring so much at this point she couldn't tell the difference between a sign and a pedestrian. It didn't help that Austin was driving 120 in the city either, merging all the colours in her eyes. Jesus, did this boy ever slow down?

Ally was about to light another cigarette when she felt Austin's hand on her thigh. She swallowed unintentionally. "Have something," he said, referring to the snacks he bought. She could see he was nearly done the bag of jellybeans himself.

Ally sighed before picking up a can of Coke. She popped the top and took a sip. She held it in her hands, liking the way it made her hands feel cold. Her face was too warm.

Ally yawned. She felt her eyelids flutter close suddenly. She was beginning to feel awfully tired.

"Yorkie?"

"Hm?" She looked at him. There were three blurry devils staring back at her.

"What's it like in New York?"

That was probably the last thing she wanted to talk about right now. She just shook her head at the alarming swarm of thoughts in her mind. How could she tell someone who's never been to New York something about it? "It's... interesting."

"How so?"

"Nights are colder, people are colder. You could get robbed at any second and lost on the subway."

Austin glanced at her. When she turned to return his gaze, he turned away. "Interesting," he said.

"Yeah," she said flatly.

"You okay?"

"Of course I am."

Austin's jaw flexed. "You don't sound okay."

 _Why do you care?_

She almost said, _New York is a touchy subject for me,_ but didn't. Did he care? Maybe. He'd been asking if she was alright all night, of course he must. But did she want to tell him? Of course not. Here's this stranger trying to pry into her deepest darkest secrets.

 _I'd say we've become acquaintances by now._

Ally shook her head. "Just tired."

"Then maybe I should get you home."

 _Home,_ she thought bitterly. _A word I used to associate New York with._ Ally shook her head again, her wavy hair flying around. She was sure she would go crazy back in that dorm room of hers. "No, don't. Just... keep driving around for a while."

Austin gave her a look which she accepted fully. There was something in his dark eyes. It looked like it wanted to swallow her whole. "Okay," he said, turning back to the road. Ally relaxed. "Whatever you want."

They drove in silence for a while. They drove on another highway that passed that IHOP she was at last month. She laughed remembering the thought.

Maybe she should have considered Austin while she chose a comrade for the ride. She vaguely remembered that he looked like he just rolled out of bed when she knocked on the door. And if she was counting right, he had yawned about eight times the entire trip. His hair stuck up at odd angles because of the wind. He rubbed at his eyes, most likely trying to get the sleep out of them.

It suddenly occurred to her that he acted selflessly to give her a drive around the city. She woke him up in the middle of the night to snatch him and his car away for her own personal need without a care about what would happen to him.

She glanced at him. Shadows danced across his face, making him look rugged. Her eyes travelled to the hollow of his neck where the bandage used to be. It was gone, leaving only what it was trying to cover behind. The bruise looked soft on his skin, a small blemish on the art. She focused on the rise and fall of his chest, indicating he was breathing. For some reason, she tried to synch up their breaths.

Ally looked at his face again and let the thoughts in her mind overpower her better judgement. He looked so _soft_ yet so dangerous. His jaw and cheekbones looked sharp enough to slit her throat if she were to ever come in contact with them. His nose was high, wrinkling slightly as he fought off another yawn. His mouth drew into a slightly crooked frown when he wasn't talking and she wondered what his mouth would feel like on hers.

Ally shook her head.

 _Fuck. This is why I don't do cocaine anymore._

Ally tried to calm herself down by taking a sip of the pop in her hand. Unfortunately as she brought the drink to her lips, Austin decided to slam on the brakes. Her drink went flying from her hand and splattered all over her shirt. "Fuck," she cursed, glancing down at her now-soiled shirt. A car horn blared at Austin at the sudden stop.

"Sorry, mate." He peeked out his window to the car behind him. "Ran too many red lights already." Austin sat back down in his seat as the car behind him honked again. He snickered.

Ally was still look at her mess when she caught Austin looking at her. "Shit," he muttered, going wide-eyed at her.

"It's fine," she waved him off, finding some napkins— and other weird things like ketchup packets, coconut hand lotion and pet insurance— in his car's glove compartment. "It's not your fault you're a shitty driver."

Austin didn't say anything but pulled over and parked on the side of an empty road. It was illuminated only by the street lights on either side of it. Austin turned the engine off. Ally dabbed at her shirt, still trying to soak up the spill feebly.

"You're going to get sick wearing that," he muttered. Ally eyed him, but didn't say anything. She was cold, soaked to the bone, but she wasn't going to admit that.

"It's your fault for slamming on the goddamn brakes," she retorted. Wiping up the mess was futile.

"You should change out of that shirt," Austin said. And before she could say anything, Austin began to take off his gray jumper. She couldn't help but notice the way his white shirt rode up when he lifted his arms over his head.

Austin tossed her his sweater. Ally caught it and frowned. "You want me to wear your sweater over my shirt?" Where was the logic in that? She would still be frozen. The logical thing to do was to...

Oh.

Austin chuckled darkly at her. "I'm asking you to take your shirt off."

Ally knew he was stating the obvious, but the way he said it made her fingers tremble slightly. She dropped his jumper in her lap and slowly began to ease her arms under her shirt. She shivered as cold air made its way to her stomach without even being fully exposed yet.

Without meaning to, she caught Austin's eye. He was staring at her with an expression she couldn't understand. His eyes were darker than he night sky itself. She realized she could have a little fun with this. Ally placed her fingers on the hem of her shirt and slowly eased it over her head, shimmying it off her body.

Austin's breathing became shallow.

Ally smirked as she shirt covered her face. She eased it off her arms placed it in her lap beside Austin's sweater. Ally let out a planned, satisfying sigh. She glanced at Austin out of the corner of her eye. His eyes had taken on a hazy look and deep down she was thrilled she was the one doing this to him.

She was wearing nothing fancy, a normal black bra. The brunette threw her messed up hair back over her shoulder slowly, catching the bob of Austin's throat as he swallowed.

Ally quickly threw the jumper over her exposed skin, as a sudden breeze entered the car. Man, she was cold.

As soon as she was covered entirely in Austin's sweater, she felt warm. Warm and cozy. The sleeves were at least five inches too long for her. Heck, it was even big on Austin.

"Fancy stunt," he said, his voice oddly hoarse.

Ally batted her eyelashes. "Glad you think s—" Her voice died in her throat as she caught sight of him.

He was suddenly so close. Austin leaned over the cup holders in between them. Her first instinct was to lean back, away from him. But something, some force, held her immobile.

She gasped softly at the sight of him; unruly blond hair, a tongue that swiped at his soft lips, tinted blue because of his choice of jellybeans. His white shirt seemed to be strained by his arms. One of which that was suddenly resting on the back of Ally's seat. Ally still rendered his flannel pajama pants silly, but somehow, they made him look so _boyish._ His eyes were so dark, stars unable to be reflected in the haze. They were trained on her lips.

She had trouble getting the next breath out her lungs.

Ally thought of words to describe him in that moment; dangerous, attractive, gentle, annoying, a pain in the ass, rough, the fucking devil, handsome.

 _Sex._

She could see it. Them leaning into each other, their mouths colliding, crashing into each other like the sea and the shore. He would ignite the flame inside her and she would set ablaze the hunger in his eyes. She would run her hands through his fucking blond hair and tug on it so hard. She wondered what kind of noise he would make, whether she would commit it to memory on the nights where she felt lonely or just swallow his cry whole with her own mouth. He would run his hands up and down her back, pulling her into him before resting on her waist.

She would kiss his neck, licking those two dots that tempted her all the time. She would tickle that spot behind his ear with her lips, kiss the hollow between his neck and throat, bite on his Adam's apple. She would place fluttering kisses all along his jaw, leave a mark for him to cover with a bandage. She would make him scream.

Preferably her name.

Ally couldn't see anything but the darkness in his eyes. It wasn't like a darkness she'd known before, filled with grief and heartbreak. This darkness was filled with mystery and adventure, of hunger and desire.

He was wild, tied down by nothing. Austin didn't seem to let his past define him and maybe that's why she was so intrigued by him. Why her thoughts were always so ambivalent when it came to him. He was everything she wanted to be, everything she wanted. Something quivered in her stomach.

Ally watched as Austin leaned in closer, his tongue swiping at his bottom lip. Ally felt like liquid gold, her movements heavy. She leaned in close, so close that their noses were an atom away from touching. She stared at his lips that quivered slightly. She closed her eyes, feeling his warm breath on her face.

She could feel the ghost of his lips hovering above her, descending slowly. She wanted to grab the back of his head and smash their faces together already, but much to her dismay, she still had some self-control left.

Ally felt Austin's hand touch her face. It was rough, yet gentle against her skin. He swiped his thumb over her cheek. Her breathing had gone ragged. Their noses collided. Ally tilted her chin upwards. She parted her mouth, eagerly ready to accept his lips on her own, his tongue in her mouth.

And then a car horn blared.

The two jumped apart. Ally's heart pounded in her chest, her eyes going wide. Her erratic heartbeat was so loud, she couldn't hear anything for a moment. She was disoriented for a second before she remembered that the car was parked on the side of a supposedly empty road. Ally took in a shaky breath, trying to calm herself down.

She almost gave into the devil.

Ally glanced at Austin who looked more or less like himself. He was staring straight ahead, into the dark road, the dark night. She watched as he fumbled with the keys to the car. "I should," he swallowed, his low voice raspy, "take you home."

She didn't trust her own voice but got out a soft, "Yeah."

They drove in silence. The radio turned off by itself when Austin turned the car off earlier. That felt like a lifetime ago.

The fire in her veins was dying out. She was oh so tired, ready to collapse. Her vision was still blurry, but it wasn't at its peak. She glanced at the time on the dash in front of her.

3:06am.

She couldn't stop thinking about the boy sitting next to her.

Ally slumped against her seat as the city zoomed by. She wondered how a brain processed thoughts so quickly, and why hers was against her at all odds.

Austin pulled into the parking lot of UM. The scene was quiet. Of course it was, it was fucking three o'clock in the morning. He pulled into an empty slot near the grass closest to her residential hall. She wondered if he did it on purpose.

Austin got out of the car first. Ally didn't trust her legs to work, but she forced herself to stand and get out of his car.

She grabbed her soaked shirt and began to walk towards her dorm. Austin followed behind her. It made her anxious. She knew he was only about a step behind her. If she were to stop, she would collide with the front of his warm chest.

Ally kept walking.

Her dorm door came into view after walking in silence through the building for a while. Ally swallowed as she felt for her keys.

"Hope you had a good time tonight, princess," Austin said from behind her, all the smugness and smirk back in his voice. She let out a sigh of relief. Ally wasn't sure what she would have done if his voice was still dropped three octaves and all scratchy like he just woke up. She was sure her knees would've given into the floor.

"I did," she said, finding her voice. And her keys. She unlocked the door. "Thanks."

Ally turned around to face him, startled to find him only inches away from her face. She held his gaze. There was the mischievous glint in his brown eyes again. For a second, it disappeared, and his eyes clouded. Ally swallowed nervously, blinking once, twice.

And then he was gone.

* * *

 **HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA. I hope I made your heart pound at some point during this. Even my heart was pounding while I wrote it because I couldn't get the words down fast enough.**

 **ANYWAY, I'm sorry to say I haven't finished writing the next chapter yet. Might be awhile until I get to that. But I do have a certain Thursday in mind to post it on, since it kinda correlates with a specific date to Ally in the actual show. It might be a few days prior or in advance but still. Can ya'll guess what it might be? ;)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**


	11. important author's note!

**Hello.**

 **This is just a little A/N explaining why I've been gone for the past couple of months. I'll just get right to the point; school's been a bitch. I've been busy and stressed and exams haven't even started yet. I've been studying non-stop until the very last day before winter break. Really takes a lot outta ya! Along with this, I've started to spend more time away from writing and instead focus on daily life (which sadly includes studying rip lmao)**

 **That being said, I'm** ** _not_** **discontinuing this story. This idea really intrigued me and I plan on finishing it. I have the next chapter nearly finished and the entire story planned out to the very last detail. It's a shame that I had to stop at _that_ chapter (cough chAPTER 10), but yeah.**

 **When the next chapter will go up beats me, but I really hope I'll be able to get it up soon! Thank for the continuous support on this story even though I've been missing in action for a while!**

 **Chapter 11 will go up in favour of this A/N when the time is right. Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!**


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